Juventus suffer worst defeat in 30 years at the hands of eternal rivals Napoli

Napoli annihilated their eternal rivals Juventus by five goals to one at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Friday evening, pushing their hopes up for a first scudetto in 33 years.

After eight straight wins and clean sheets, the 36-time Serie A winners got a reality check and suffered the worst defeat in 30 years in Naples.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side was the most in-form Italian team leading up to the match and was slowly turning a disappointing season, which saw them get eliminated in the group stages of the Champions League with five defeats, into a promising one.

Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti had said that Juventus were clear favourites and that it was useless for Allegri to downplay their chances.

Victor Osimhen took the lead in the 14th minute with a header from a rebound and Serie A’s best player of the season so far, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, made them two in the 39th minute.

Juventus got back in the game after World Cup winner Angel Di Maria scored a goal just before half-time.

Napoli scored three goals in the second half with Amir Kadri Rrahmani in the 55th minute, Osimhen in the 65th and Eljif Elmas in the 72nd.

A first title in 33 years

The Partenopei, who are often ridiculed and looked down upon by the North Italian fans, can no longer shy away from their title chances, as they now sit 10 points clear of Milan and Juventus after 18 games.

Napoli are the only southern Italian team to ever clinch a Serie A title, winning two in 1986 and 1990, thanks to their legend Diego Armando Maradona.

Many have romanticised the idea of 2023 being a repetition of 1986, when Napoli won their first Serie A title and Argentina won their second World Cup, with Maradona carrying both sides to glory.

With Argentina winning the Qatari world cup last December and Napoli edging closer to the title, the romantics could be in for a special treat.

The title would also be Spalletti’s career coronation, who fell short multiple times of winning a title during his two spells with Roma.