Article by Maria Olteanu, Dragoș Petrescu – Published on Sunday, 07 December 2025 23:47 / Updated on Monday, 08 December 2025 00:58
Naples imposed itself on its own ground in front of those from Juventusscore 2-1, in the most anticipated duel of the round with number #14 in Serie A. Thus, Antonio Conte's team returned, for the moment, to the first position in the ranking.
The complete program of stage #14 of Serie A
The Italian champion started the derby like a cannon with the “Old Lady”, stepping on the accelerator from the first minutes of the match.
Scott McTominay caused the first excitement in the visitors' box when his header hit the outside netting of Di Gregorio's goal (6').
Hojlund's goal made the difference in the first half
The Neapolitans continued to press, and this paid off extremely quickly. Just a minute after McTominay's chance, Rasmus Hojlund opened the scoring at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Following a one-on-one move down the right flank, David Neres sent the ball into the penalty area and the Danish striker got in the face of Lloyd Kelly and calmly slotted past the Juventus goalkeeper.
The “Bianconeri” did not show signs of life even after this event. What's more, Napoli twice came close to doubling the advantage, but the attempts of Di Lorenzo and Noa Lang did not find the target.
Thus, Antonio Conte's students entered the cabins with a minimal advantage on the table, score 1-0.
Juventus scored in the first dangerous action
The beginning of the second act saw a similar development of the game to that of the first 45 minutes. Napoli were the more dangerous team, the team that threatened the opposing goal, but McTominay (from a free kick) and Hojlund missed their executions.
However, the “Old Lady” managed to restore parity, right at the very first dangerous phase she created in the match.
It all started with an excellent recovery in midfield by captain Locatelli, who dispossessed Hojlund and then set up his teammates on the counter-attack.
Later, the ball came into Weston McKennie's possession, he served Kenan Yildiz very well, and Romania's future opponent beat Vanja Milinkovic-Savic with a shot placed at the long corner inside the box. So, in the 59th minute, the score changed again. 1-1.
McKennie, decisive passer and in Napoli's winning goal
Gradually, the Italian champion went back on the attack, hoping to regain the advantage, and this happened in the end.
In the 78th minute, Rasmus Hojlund made the “doppietta”, with a little help from the American McKennie, who, after providing the “assist” to Yildiz's goal, served the Napoli striker perfectly in his own box, his unfortunate rejection ending up putting the ball on the head of the former Manchester United player, who completed a simple formality, thus bringing victory to the Neapolitans.
Following this result, “I Ciucciarelli” collected 31 points and took over the leader's seat in Italy, surpassing Chivu's Inter by a single length. However, if AC Milan wins against Turin on Monday, Antonio Conte's team will return to second place.
On the other hand, Luciano Spalletti's team remained in 7th place in the standings, with 23 points.
In the next round of Serie A, Napoli will play on Udinese's field, while Juventus will also play away at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara against Bologna.
Until then, however, the two teams will have duels on the biggest stage of European football, namely the Champions League. Napoli will face Benfica in Lisbon, while Juve will receive the visit of the Cypriots from Pafos, the team for which Vlad Dragomir plays. Both games will be played on Wednesday, December 10, from 22:00.
Serie A standings:
FINAL » Naples – Juventus 2-1
-
Click HERE for more details and statistics about this match;
-
They scored: R. Hojlund (7', 78') / K. Yildiz (59');
Napoli – Juventus » Starting teams:
NAPLES (3-4-3): Milinkovic-Savic – Beukema, Rrahmani, Buongiorno – Di Lorenzo, Elmas, McTominay, Olivera – Neres, Hojlund, Lang
reserves: Contini, Ferrante – Ambrosino, J. Jesus, Lucca, Marianucci, Mazzocchi, Politano, Spinazzola, Vergara
Coach: Antonio Conte
JUVENTUS (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio – Kalulu, Kelly, Koopmeiners – McKennie, Locatelli, K. Thuram, Cambiaso – Conceiçao, Yildiz – J. David
reserves: Perin, Scaglia – Adzic, David, Kostic, Mario, Miretti, Openda, Pedro Felipe, Rouhi, Zhegrova
Coach: Luciano Spalletti
Stadium: Diego Armando Maradona (Naples)
Referee: Federico La Penna
