22 April 2018
After a tense and tight affair between the top two sides in Serie A, a last-gasp goal from Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly saw the visitors claim victory to move within a point of Juve at the top of the table.
It was a cauldron of an atmosphere at Allianz Stadium in a much-anticipated Scudetto showdown between the two title contenders with a half-time stalemate seeing both teams fashion a couple of good opportunities in a half where netiher side wanted to give an inch.
On the 17-minute mark, Miralem Pjanic saw a free-kick deflect off the Napoli wall and agonisingly hit the post with Pepe Reina beaten. From the resulting corner, Gonzalo Higuain connected with a side-volley at the back post and it looped over Pepe Reina, but was just cleared by the head of Mario Rui.
Up the other end, Rui attempted a searching cross from the left-hand side that travelled too close to the Bianconeri goal for Gianluigi Buffon’s liking, with the Juve number one tipping the ball over the bar acrobatically. Lorenzo Insigne thought he had given Napoli the lead when he had the ball in the net in the 38th minute, but he was adjudged to have been offside from Jorginho’s pass.
The start of the second half had the Partenopei go close in the 52nd minute when Marek Hamsik found himself free in the Juve area, but his shot hit the side-netting. Napoli were able to keep the Bianconeri largely at bay for the duration of the second half as Juve looked to attack down the wings.
There would be a sting in the tail, however, as the game’s decisive moment came right at the very end. Jose Callejon’s corner found its way onto the head of Koulibaly with the Senegalese defender powering a header past Buffon to give Napoli a 90th-minute lead.
Napoli’s victory sees them close the gap on Juve to just one point at the top of the table, with the Bianconeri hoping to bounce back next weekend away at rivals Inter while Napoli will travel to Florence to face Fiorentina.
