Napoli 3-3 Juventus: NON MOLLARE MAI!!!!!! Epic Comeback at the San Paolo!

“FORZA JUVE DAI DAI DAI, NON MOLLARE MAI MAI MAI”. The lyrics of this chant, which roughly translate to “Let’s go Juve GO GO GO, Never Give Up NO NO NO”, are the incarnation of the Bianconeri’s never-say-die attitude. An attitude which had seemingly been lost in recent years and reappeared with Antonio Conte, and absolutely irradiated the Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday night. Thousands of Napoli supporters were left silent, as Juventus turned a 0-2 then a 1-3 goal deficit into one of the most epic turn-arounds of the current season, courtesy of Matri, Estigarribia, and the latest man-of-the-hour himself: Simone “Tiger Woods” Pepe!

MATCH ANALYSIS      (by Aaron Giambattista)

What. A. Game.

Napoli feeds off the home crowd at the San Paolo, the fans urge the team on during their fearsome counter-attacks. It will be no different tomorrow, it will only be more intense.

Our match preview was entirely accurate. Napoli came at us with guns blazing, with Zuniga and Maggio bombing down the flanks. Lavezzi provided the creativity, and Goran Pandev, the shocking clinical finishes. The San Paolo was deafening when Napoli launched their counter-attacks, and having gone behind early in the game, Juventus allowed the Partenopei to sit deep and hit on the break at will. Indeed, by the end of the game, the Bianconeri would display a 60% ball possession with Napoli having no desire to hold onto it.

This match started out extremely poorly. There has been no game thus far this season in which Juventus has been outplayed by the other team, and while the 2nd half may have meant Juve deserved a draw or even a win, the 1st half was an unmitigated disaster. Deprived of his key man Claudio Marchisio, Antonio Conte shifted the tactics around, into either a 4-1-4-1 or a 3-5-2 depending on your view. The game clearly showed Marchisio’s importance to the team, though I did find it bizarre Conte chose not to simply replace him with Michele Pazienza to provide the running in midfield alongside Vidal and Pirlo.

When speaking about the tactical switch, Conte stated it was to counter those storming Napoli fullbacks we mentioned in the preview. While Estigarribia helped to protect against Maggio’s forward runs, Zuniga caused Lichtsteiner quite a bit of problems with his acceleration and pace. Conte did not make any substitutions at half-time, preferring to stick with the men he chose from the start.

There was certainly a tactical shift in the second period, but to be perfectly honest, in the frantic end-to-end & adrenaline-pumping nature of the match, it’s hard to identify exactly what it was. Whatever Conte said or did in the dressing room at half-time however, completely changed the match. For the first time in the game Juventus looked confident in their own ability: while Napoli preferred to sit back, Juve was back in the driver’s seat to take the initiative.

Juve’s goals came in, and as the second half moved on, Napoli looked on the ropes as if the team would concede a 2nd (they did), a 3rd (they did), and even a 4th to lose the match. Juventus pressed on at the very end looking for the winner, and though it didn’t come, the result was certainly a massive morale boost for Juventus. One only needed to listen to the San Paolo’s deafening silence after Pepe’s equalizer to see the effect (shortly followed by the Juventus supporters singing ‘O Surdato ‘Nnammurato, mocking their Napoli counterparts with what is usually a Napoli victory-song).

LE PAGELLE      (by Aaron Giambattista)

Buffon 6 – Could do little on any of Napoli’s goals. Napoli had two free kicks that Gigi’s experience and training had him well prepared for, as he got low to the ground to save Lavezzi’s effort.
 

 
Barzagli 6 – The best of the defensive backline in a generally poor day. Looked like the one defender Juve had that wasn’t terrified by Napoli’s counter-attacks. Looked calm and composed.

Bonucci 4 – A miserable outing for Leo after a very good month or two. While it’s easy to completely slam Bonucci, look at it this way: it was a game in an intimidating atmosphere with pacy opponents tearing down the field on the counter. Exactly the type of game one might expect Leo to struggle in. At fault for most of Napoli’s goals (including a headed assist for Hamsik) and looked nervous throughout. Quite surprised Conte didn’t replace him, but for who?

Chiellini 5.5 – Didn’t have any of Bonucci’s shocking errors at the back, but still struggled and was beaten to the cross for Napoli’s 3rd goal. Stayed more defensive than in his last month or so but looked a bit unsure where to play at times, whether wide or more central.
 

 
Lichtsteiner 5.5 – Probably his poorest outing in Bianconero thus far, but imagine if Marco Motta was there instead. Stephan looked nervous the entire game and played like it. Had a real difficult time with Zuniga’s pace and very easily could have been sent off.

Vidal 6 – Battled like a lion and provided a wonderful assist for Matri’s goal, but struggled without Marchisio. Both in the playmaking phase and when trying to contain Napoli’s counters.

Pirlo 5 – While the former Milan maestro managed to redeem himself somewhat with generally good plays in the 2nd half, his bad moments were absolutely atrocious. A foolish tackle on Lavezzi to gift Napoli’s penalty, struggled immensely with the Azzurri’s pressure and often gave the ball away in dangerous territory. We’ve seen this earlier this season, and Pirlo needs to be more careful. Sometimes he’s fouled, but the ref won’t necessarily always call it.
 

Your absence on the field was felt Claudio...

Pepe 7 – If it wasn’t for that goal, Simone would probably get a 5.5 or so, but it largely wasn’t his fault. Conte played him bizarrely in the first half in a relatively central position and it clearly wasn’t a fit at all. Was anonymous for most of the match, but came up with a brilliant goal running all the way down the pitch and after 80 minutes of hustling. Conte has revolutionized this man.

(85′) Pazienza sv – Conte brought him on to defend the draw in the final minutes. His main highlight of the night was getting massively booed by the San Paolo crowd.

Estigarribia 7 – What a pleasant display from the Paraguayan winger. Displaying excellent close control reminiscent of Camoranesi, he moved well down the wing and provided plenty of coverage for Chiellini, largely limiting Maggio’s impact.
 

 
Vucinic 6.5 – It was another display of what we’ve seen from Mirko. Great individual skill, but also a proclivity to fading out of the match. Completely absent the 1st half, he was at the heart of Juve’s turnaround in the 2nd. If he manages to get more scoring chances (or buries them, rather) he’ll be playing fantastic.

(91′) Del Piero sv

Matri 7 – As I said against Lazio, Matri is without question, the complete center forward. He had another great game tonight, while starved of service in the first half, he tore Napoli’s backline apart in the 2nd half. His movement caused them endless problems, he finished brilliantly, and had a glancing header to assist Estigarribia’s goal. What a player.

(89′) Quagliarella sv – Also very little playing time, and also shamefully booed by the San Paolo crowd.

 
Conte 6.5 – The first half was an absolute disaster, unquestionably Juve’s worst thus far this season. The team looked disorganized, confused, and overwhelmed. Conte had the team line up with a 3-5-2 system to counter Napoli, and whether it was because the team wasn’t used to it or it was simply the wrong formation, it didn’t work. That said, what a job he’s done for Juventus. Last two years, going down 2-0 at the San Paolo would have been on the road to a 4-1 crushing defeat. Instead, the team never gave up, battled from 2-0 down, and even when Napoli chalked up a third, looked fate straight in the eye and said “we are NOT going to let this happen”. In the final minutes, Juve looked the more likely to grab the winner too. IN CONTE WE TRUST!
 

PLAY-BY-PLAY      (by Marco Pantanella)

•	Three weeks after its postponement, Napoli-Juventus is set to begin.
•	After much uncertainty on this matchday eve, Conte has finally chosen Marcelo Estigarribia to replace suspended Claudio Marchisio in midfield. He will take up the left wing, shifting Vucinic right. Vidal/Pepe will be the offensive “central” mids in front of Pirlo. Looks more like a 4-1-4-1 set-up, even though the TV screen says 3-5-2.
•	The Juventus bench is composed by: Storari, De Ceglie, Pazienza, Giaccherini, Krasic, Del Piero, Quagliarella. Milos is back.
•	On Napoli’s end, great news for all Bianconeri fans: Edinson Cavani is not on the pitch, still not completely recovered from a knock picked up against Atalanta. He isn’t even on the bench.
1′	And we’re off!
3′	First shot of the game by Juventus, a sizzling low effort by Pepe that ends a few yards wide of De Sanctis’s post.
6′	Penetration Juve. Space on the left for Estigarribia, passes to the center. Ball eventually lands on the opposite side to Lichtsteiner, his cross is deflected and lands to Vucinic. Low rotating shot by Mirko!! Wide of the left post.
7′	Vucinic is drifting a lot to the wing, which makes me believe my 4-1-4-1 might be more accurate than a 3-5-2. Though it is true Lichtsteiner is playing much further up than usual, much more so than Chiellini.
8′	Vucinic-Lichtsteiner combining well on the right wing. Twice already Mirko serves it deep for the Swiss Choo Choo train, but nothing comes out of it.
10′	Foul Cannavaro on Vucinic, 10 yards outside the right corner of the Napoli box.
11′	Pirlo FK to the far post, deflected into corner by the Napoli defense. CK Juve, punched away by De Sanctis.
13′	Long ball forward from Chiellini to Vucinic, completely free near the box. He’s offside though.
14′	Good work by Vidal, tackles the ball into corner to cover for a Lichtsteiner push up the right wing.
14′	BRAINFART PIRLO. Off the corner, Lavezzi asks and obtains for a return pass and enters the Juve box. Pirlo brings him down with a mad sliding tackle. Penalty Kick Napoli.
14′	Yellow card Pirlo for the foul.
15′	Hamsik converts it from 12 yards, but it’ll have to be retaken. Many players encroaching.
16′	AND HAMSIK MISSES IT on his second attempt!!! OVER THE BAR!!!!!!!!!
16′	Yellow card Pandev for a blatant dive outside the Juve box.
18′	Good movement Juve, opening long ball towards Estigarribia, who attemps a one-time low cross towards Matri. Too long.
19′	Yellow card Maggio for a late slide tackle on Chiellini.
22′	Foul Vidal on Zuñiga, 30 yards out and on the left.
23′	Goal Napoli Hamsik.
23′	The Goal: Off the FK, hard towards the far post. There’s confusion in the box, but it is actually Bonucci that redirects the ball across goal, straight to a completely unmarked Hamsik, who has no trouble applying the finish. 1-0 Napoli.
26′	Napoli penetrating centrally, Pandev from mid-range. Low shot to the bottom-right post! Buffon gets down to save it.
27′	Another Napoli penetration, Lavezzi is literally roaming free on the left wing. He gets inside the box, crosses it low, but his teammate can’t control it.
28′	Vucinic now on the opposite end, breaks down on the right and should get a corner, but Napoli get a GK.
31′	Estigarribia hard shot from the left, after a good Juventus build-up at last. The last few minutes the Bianconeri had considerable trouble, not only maintaining possession, but also getting the ball outside of the danger zone.
32′	Vidal in the middle, tries to find solution. He slides it centrally for Matri and it seems like a good idea, but once again it’s too long.
34′	Lavezzi tries to penetrate on the left again, he’s stopped by Bonucci.
35′	Once again Juve attempt to maneuver through the center. Vidal scooped ball for Estigarribia, it’s just a bit long for the Paraguayan.
36′	A Napoli player goes hard on Vidal. No foul. Vidal stays down. Napoli kick the ball out.
36′	Replay shows there was contact on that last tackle. Meanwhile Yellow card Bonucci for dissent.
38′	Long ball forward straight from the backline… to no one.
39′	The nervousness continues, as Juve pick up another booking. Yellow card Matri, also for dissent.
40′	Goal Napoli Pandev.
41′	The Goal: Jesus Christ is that an ugly goal. With the Juve defense unable to get the ball clear in front of their box, Pirlo goes in with a hard shot/clearance that ricochets off a completely clueless Maggio and turns into a perfect assist for Pandev. Low right-footed shot, goal into Buffon’s far post. 2-0 Napoli.
42′	This game has gone from bad to worse for Juventus.
43′	Yellow card Lichtsteiner and Hamsik for a mini-scuffle. Referee Tagliavento is having a tough time keeping discipline here.
45′	Napoli blow a 4v2 opportunity with a Gargano pass into Lavezzi’s back, catching the Argie playmaker wrong-footed. Yet another turnover for the home team.
46′	Juventus keep trying to penetrate into narrow spaces, centrally, and just like every other goddamn time so far, it doesn’t work. Changes utmostly necessary for Conte at the half.

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Half-time impressions:

• MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: Who’s suffering more from the absence of their best player? Juventus with Marchisio, or Napoli with Cavani? Pretty easy fu**ing answer so far.
• The formation designed by Conte to remedy the void left by Principino is, to put it mildly, completely inadequate so far. Pepe might have touched the ball once or twice the entire game, Vidal is being asked to play regista, and while he shows a good amount of technical skill sometimes, his passes are clunky and missing just that 10% they need to be fruitful. Vucinic has zero space on the right, and Estigarribia, while occasionally managing to create space for himself, always lacks the cool-headedness to turn a good move into a key pass or assist.
• In other words: as they say in Italy, E` ALTO MARE (high waters) for Juve. Expect Conte to seriously redesign his formation at the break, along with kicking a few of his players’ behinds while he’s at it.
• On a sidenote, not taking anything away from Napoli who are clearly dominating this game, it is just ridiculous their two goals came from what can essentially be tagged as two Juve assists.

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46′	No changes at the half, at least in terms of squad composition. One would hope it’s a different matter as far as attitude is concerned for Juve.
48′	GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL JUVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Alessandro MATRI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
48′	The Goal: Really great movement by Juve!! Vidal centrally, outside the box, seems he might pass it to Lichsteiner to the right but instead aims to the center, just behind Vucinic. It’s almost a “dummy” because the ball lands to Matri right behind him, free into space and free to beat De Sanctis with a low finish!! 2-1!!!!!!
50′	Oh Lord almighty Bonucci long ball from his own half towards Matri, who volleys it instantanously into the top-right corner! But he was a hair offside. What a goal that would have been!
51′	Juve again!! Great penetration down the left wing, Chiellini & Pepe exchanging, Pepper crosses it towards the center! Deflected into corner! It’s a different Juve now!
52′	Off the corner, Juve attempt it short and send it in, it’s cleared away and Napoli break with Lavezzi. He’s brought down by Estigarribia and this time, Tagliavento keeps his cards in his pocket. FK Napoli nonetheless.
53′	Ugh. Juve still diving into tackles too much. Almost got fooled on that short FK overlap.
54′	VUCINIC!!! Penetrates centrally, frees up his left for a shot, De Sanctis saves into corner!!
56′	Vucinic again, combines well with Pepe and almost sets him up for a great through ball. Then again, good exchange with Estigarribia to move in on the left, creates more danger for Napoli that’s eventually defused.
57′	Ugh good Lord. Lavezzi wreaking havoc on the left again. Gets by two Juve players and strikes it hard, straight at Buffon who holds the ball.
58′	Yellow card Vidal for a rough challenge.
63′	After a stormy Juventus start of the half, Intensity of the match has dropped down a little. Fatigue seems to be catching up with Napoli though, as their players are starting to multiply their passing mistakes.
64′	Long ball Pirlo to Lichtsteiner on the right. A hair offside.
66′	Genius backheel flick by Vucinic to almost set up Matri on goal. Just a tad long.
68′	Goal Napoli Pandev. Unbelievable.
68′	The Goal: Ridiculous. Maggio roams free on the right, and gets himself into a dead-end near the Juve corner, contained by Chiellini. He just shoots it hard at the first post, probably looking for a corner. Bonucci misses the interception, Pandev controls the ball and turns it inside Buffon’s right post with a left-footed effort. 3-1 Napoli.
70′	Substitution Napoli: Pandev comes off for Santana. Meanwhile Conte has asked Krasic to take off his substitute pinny.
72′	GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL JUVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Marcelo ESTIGARRIBIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
72′	The Goal: Hard work by Vucinic on the right, crosses it in! Matri flicks it on just a tiny bit towards the far post, where Estigarribia controls it with his left and pokes it with his right past a rushing De Sanctis. 3-2!!!!! COME ON BOYS!!!
73′	Juve again!! Pepe storming forward, slides it to Vucinic centrally. Mirko attempts a curling effort!! Parried away by De Sanctis!!!!!
74′	CK Juve, after some great work by Licht on the right to defend the ball. Pirlo shot. Another corner.
76′	Substitution Napoli: Aaronica comes off for Fernandez. As for Juve, looks like Milos will have to wait. Conte changed his mind.
76′	Foul Licht on Zuniga on the right. FK Napoli.
77′	Low shot Lavezzi, tries to surprise Buffon! Well held by Gigi!
77′	Juve break immediately. Estigarribia storms away on the left wing, but his cross under pressure towards Matri is horrendous, literally 15 yards too much in front of him and straight to De Sanctis.
78′	AAAAAAAAGHHH CHIELLINI!!! Storming penetration by Vucinic, including a lucky bounce, sets up Chiellini just inside the box. Giorgio’s instantanous shot is straight at De Sanctis!!!
79′	GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL JUVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Simone PEPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
79′	The Goal: OMFG!!!!!! Chiellini steals the ball and launches Pepper. Storming run forward by Pepe, tries to slide it to Vucinic on the left, touched by a Napoli defender it returns the ball straight to Simone, who fires it low past De Sanctis into the right-bottom corner!! 3-3!!!!!!!!!
80′	Good God what a game this is! Another Napoli mistake create another turnover for Juventus. Matri centrally tries to find a pass to Vucinic on the right, but Fernandez is there to cut it off.
82′	Long-range effort by Inler. Way over the bar.
82′	Still no subs for Juventus, but given the scoreline turnaround, who the hell can blame Conte for it.
83′	WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!! Another great movement by Juve, Estigarribia to the center, backheels to Vuci, high ball into space for Matri. He controls it. Puts it on his right, moves back deep on his left but the Napoli defender reads him well. Then Chiellini arrives from the back and slams a howitzer wide of the post!!
84′	Foul Lichtsteiner on Zuniga on the left. Tagliavento gives him a pass. Would have been his second yellow.
85′	Off the FK, Vucinic clears it. Then a long ball by the Napoli defense goes straight into GK for Juve.
86′	Substitution Juve, the first one: an exhausted and heroic Pepe comes off for Pazienza.
86′	Substitution Napoli: I just saw Dossena come in. Probably for Zuniga.
87′	Vucinic work on the right, after finding yet again space through Pirlo. He stops, backtracks, crosses it with his left towards the far post. Too long for Estigarribia.
88′	Long ball Napoli towards Lavezzi. Barzagli puts a patch on it and clears into corner.
88′	Off the corner, Napoli header, takes a bounce off the ground before being grabbed by Buffon. SHIVERS down my spine.
89′	Substitution Juve: Matri comes off for Quagliarella. Just like Pazienza, greeted by boos at the San Paolo. Frankly undeserved.
90′	Foul on Lavezzi 30 yards out. Napoli push their men up.
90′	As we wait for the FK, THREE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME.
90′	Substitution Juve: Vucinic comes off for Del Piero.
91′	Off the previous Napoli FK. Deflection Juve defense. Ball loops to Estigarribia, still inside the Juve box. It’s a mess. Ball is eventually passed out of danger to Pirlo. He sets off Quagliarella on the left, but instead of running towards the corner he centers it right away straight back to Napoli. AAAAAAAAARGHH!!!
92′	AAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHH Chiellini pushes forward and launches Del Piero, who’s just half-a-yard offside. He was completely alone!!!
93′	FULL-TIME WHISTLE!!! NAPOLI 3-3 JUVENTUS!!!! WHAT A FANTASTIC GAME!!!!!!!!!!!

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ANALYSIS WRAP-UP      (by Aaron Giambattista)

We can dissect the tactics of this game, talk about the individual performances, but really, the display is all that matters. In the last two years, going down 2-0 at the San Paolo would have led to more and more misery. The team would have collapsed mentally after the first or second goal, as evidenced in the humiliating 3-0 defeat to relegation candidates Udinese. Conte’s Juve looked in complete disarray in the first half, but never gave up. They reorganized, dug in, and fought back.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time I’m saying this, but we may have seen the game that officially turns the page for Juventus. There have been plenty of signs from this year that remind us of the last few years. A bright start in fall, the fading of a former transfer hero (Krasic, Diego, Amauri) and the inability to squash smaller opponents. But today, we saw the evidence that this Juve is different. This team fights like warriors, whether up 2-0 at home or down 2-0 at one of the most intimidating stadiums in Italy.

CNN and Gazzetta writer Tancredi Palmeri went as far to say from today’s display that we saw this year’s Scudetto winners in action. It is still far from certain, Milan is only 2 points behind us and have a fearsome attack themselves. However, given the spirit, the battling display, the quality in the core of the squad as well as the fringe members like Quagliarella and Estigarribia, this team will fight for the title till the end of the row.

We’re laying the building blocks for a new winning cycle. Antonio Conte is the man to take us forward.
 
 

In Conte We Trust!

 
 
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	NAPOLI-JUVENTUS 3-3
GOALSCORERS:22′ Hamsik (N), 40′ Pandev (N), 48′ Matri (J), 68′ Pandev (N), 72′ Estigarribia (J), 79′ Pepe (J).
NAPOLI (3-4-2-1): De Sanctis – Campagnaro, P.Cannavaro, Aronica (76′ Fernandez) – Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Zuniga (87′ Dossena) – Hamsik, Pandev (71′ Santana) – Lavezzi. COACH: Mazzarri (UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Rosati, Fideleff, Dzemaili, Mascara).
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Buffon – Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini – Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pepe (85′ Pazienza), Estigarribia – Matri (89′ Quagliarella), Vucinic (91′ Del Piero). COACH: Conte (UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Storari, De Ceglie, Krasic, Giaccherini).