Juventus 3 - 0 Napoli
Kovacevic 12', Inzaghi 52', Del Piero 86'
Sunday 11 Feb 2001
The Bianconeri went into the match against Napoli at the Delle Alpi
knowing that nothing short of a win would do given League leaders Roma's
victory in Bologna. On the team front Antonio Conte, Mark Iuliano,
Fabian O'Neill and David Trezeguet were all out injured and influential
midfielder Edgar Davids was suspended. Matteo Brighi came in to make his
full Serie A debut and Carlo Ancelotti preferred Darko Kovacevic to Alex
Del Piero up front.
Juventus started very brightly with Filippo Inzaghi proving a handful
for the Napoli defence. Indeed, the former Piacenza and Atalanta man
showed his intentions as early as the sixth minute, his sharp turn and
volley from a Birindelli cross from the right saved by Alberto Fontana
in the Napoli goal.
The Bianconeri faithful did not have to wait long to celebrate: Zinedine
Zidane was the masterful creator wreaking havoc down the left, and his
pinpoint cross from inside the penalty area was met by Darko Kovacevic,
his header looping into the bottom corner.
Juventus went in search of a second as Zinedine Zidane was again showing
the kind of form that has put him on top of the pinnacle of world
football. Napoli just could not find the answer as Zidane was parading
his vast repertoire of tricks and flicks. In the 37th minute another
dangerous Birindelli cross was met by the omnipresent Zidane, whose
header was saved at the second time of asking by Fontana.
The half was to end 1-0 in favour of the Turin outfit who had the lion's
share of possession and created the best chances, thanks to the sublime
skills of Zinedine Zidane.
Carlo Ancelotti chose not to shuffle his pack as the teams came out for
the second half. The Bianconeri were again very fast out of the blocks
and made it two after seven minutes of the restart. A Zambrotta corner
was met by Kovacevic, whose powerful header was parried by Fontana only
for Filippo Inzaghi, in typical predatory mood, to head home. Only four
minutes later and the ever-scurrying Inzaghi was this time brought down
by Francesco Baldini, leaving referee Borriello with no choice but to
point to the spot. Up stepped Zidane, but Fontana pulled off a great
save to prevent further damage.
On 23 minutes, Zidane took a free-kick from some 35 yards out which took
a nasty deflection off Salvatore Fresi, forcing Fontana into another
superb reflex save. It was very much the same story as the first half
with the Bianconeri dictating the play and the side from Campania very
much on the back foot, defending desperately at times to keep the
Bianconeri at bay.
Alex Del Piero had by now replaced the concussed Kovacevic and went
close on the half-hour: it was from another cross down the right flank,
the trajectory of the former Padova man's header was destined for the
bottom corner but again the experienced Fontana denied the Bianconeri a
third goal.
Mondonico's men created their best chance on 79 minutes with a neat
interchange of passes between Edmundo and Sesa, but the hardly tested
Edwin Van Der Sar made the stop off his line as the Brazilian fired in a
rasping shot. The Bianconeri were to add a third with a few minutes of
normal time left when a seemingly innocuous Del Piero indirect free-kick
found its way into the Napoli goal, with Fontana making a proverbial howler.
It was to end with Juventus comfortable 3-0 winners in front of their
home fans at the Delle Alpi. More importantly they stay second in the
table, six points behind the leaders Roma.
Yellow Cards:
Juventus - Pessotto 71'
Napoli - Matuzalem 21', Pecchia 36'
Juventus (3-4-1-2): Van der Sar; Birindelli, Ferrara, Tudor, Pessotto; Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Brighi (Paramatti 79, Montero 85); Zidane; Inzaghi, Kovacevic (Del Piero 66)
Subs - Paramatti, Montero, Del Piero, Carini, Maietta, Papa, Fonseca
Napoli (3-5-2):Baldini, Fresi, Quiroga; Saber, Pecchia (Sesa 57), Matuzalem (Jankulovski 75), Magoni, Baccin; Amoruso (Bellucci 45), Edmundo
Subs - Sesa, Jankulovski, Bellucci, Mondini, Bocchetti, Tedesco, Afolabi
Referee: Borriello
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