Juventus secured a 2-0 victory over Napoli at the Stadium as Alajbegovic and Boga produced two outstanding finishes to settle a tense Serie A encounter. The result allowed Luciano Spalletti’s team to recover from a difficult period, while Napoli moved nine points behind fourth place, which carries Champions League qualification.

Spalletti returned to the Kolo Muani-Woltemade partnership and set Juventus up in two banks of four, with Koopmeiners alongside Douglas Luiz in midfield. Napoli, coached from the bench by Landucci during Allegri’s suspension, were without Hojlund because of illness and Milinkovic-Savic because of a muscular problem.

Napoli created the first clear chance when Lucca headed toward goal ahead of Bremer, but Vicario reacted well to deny him. The match was played at a cautious pace, although it opened up near the half-hour mark. Cabal hit the crossbar and was then brought down by Olivera, while Lang and Alajbegovic each missed promising chances. Meret also kept out a low diagonal effort from Alajbegovic before the interval.

Juventus made an early second-half change, bringing on Gatti for the injured McKennie. Napoli replaced Di Lorenzo and De Bruyne with Rrahmani and Gilmour. The hosts gradually took control, although Kolo Muani was substituted after a poorly managed counterattack and left the field to boos, with Zhegrova taking his place.

Juventus finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. Zhegrova moved in from the right and found Alajbegovic centrally, allowing the Bosnian to strike from distance. His left-footed shot clipped the inside of the post before finding the top corner, leaving Meret with no chance.

Five minutes later, Napoli were reduced to ten men when Marianucci was sent off for a second booking. Boga then added Juventus’s second goal with another superb finish, curling a precise right-footed shot from the edge of the area beyond Meret.

The victory gave Spalletti an important win in a direct encounter and brought relief back to the Stadium. Both teams will now turn to European competition away from home: Napoli will visit Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Juventus will face AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League in the Netherlands on Thursday.

Sources: ANSA Sport.