Player Ratings: Napoli 2-1 Juventus – Lukaku beats flat Thiago Motta | OneFootball

Antonio Conte’s Napoli suffocated Juventus with a perfect second-half performance after an even first half, and Romelu Lukaku emerged as the MOTM at the Stadio Maradona.

Napoli secured a crucial 2-1 victory against their historic rivals Juventus on Saturday, coming back from one goal down.

New Juventus signing Randal Kolo Muani had scored with his sixth touch in a Juventus jersey minutes before the half-time break, but the Partenopei’s reaction was ferocious.

The league leaders dominated the second half and didn’t even give Juventus a chance to make a shot on target after the break.

Michele Di Gregorio denied Lukaku with a fantastic save, but André-Zambo Anguissa scored with a header a few minutes later and was directly involved in a Napoli goal for the third consecutive match.

The ex-Fulham man is undoubtedly the best Serie A midfielder this season, but Lukaku deserved the MOTM award for this match.

The Belgian forward helped Napoli earn a penalty kick with a fantastic through ball for Scott McTominay, who tricked Manuel Locatelli with a sublime flick inside the box to get the spot-kick.

epa11852755 Napoli’s midfielder Frank Anguissa celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match SSC Napoli vs Juventus Football Club at Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, 25 January 2025. EPA-EFE/CIRO FUSCO

Napoli’s win was never in doubt after Lukaku converted the penalty and Thiago Motta leaving Dusan Vlahovic on the bench for 82 minutes will surely cause debate in the coming days.

The Bianconeri didn’t create any opportunity to score in the second half anyway, but perhaps using the Serbian and Kolo Muani in the final minutes could have put more pressure on the Partenopei.

Antonio Conte’s men are now six points clear of second-placed Inter, but the Nerazzurri have two games in hand.

Juventus sit 5th and will see Lazio go five points clear if the Biancocelesti beat Fiorentina at home tomorrow.

Napoli 2-1 Juventus – player ratings

Napoli: Meret 7; Di Lorenzo 6.5, Rrahmani 6, Juan Jesus 5.5, Spinazzola 6; Anguissa 7.5, Lobotka 6 (89′ Gilmour), McTominay 7; Politano 7.5 (82′ Mazzocchi N/A), Lukaku 8 (89′ Simeone N/A), Neres 6.5 (91′ Nonge N/A). Coach: Conte 7.5.

Best Napoli Player: Lukaku 8 – Great physicality, but didn’t forget about quality. The pass leading to the penalty kick for Napoli was as perfect as the execution of the spot-kick. Kept Gatti and Kalulu busy single-handedly. True leader. Special mention to Politano. Assist for Anguissa, quality on the ball and unpredictability.

Napoli coach: Conte 7.5 – The second-half performance was one of the best for Napoli this season and perfectly mirrored the coach’s attitude and personality. He’ll be proud.

Juventus: Di Gregorio 7; McKennie 5, Gatti 5, Kalulu 5.5, Cambiaso 6 (65′ Savona 5); Locatelli 4.5 (74′ Douglas Luiz 5), Thuram 6; Yildiz 5.5 (65′ Mbangula 5), Koopmeiners 5, Nico Gonzalez 5 (74′ Conceiçao 6); Kolo Muani 6.5 (82′ Vlahovic N/A). Coach: Motta 4.5.

Best Juventus player: Di Gregorio 7 – Fantastic save to keep Juventus’ lead in the second half, but it was not enough to avoid the first defeat in Serie A this season. Well done to Kolo Muani, scoring on his Serie A debut.

Lowest Juventus rating: Locatelli 4.5 – A terribly-timed tackle caused the Napoli penalty. Aside from that, the Azzurri dominated in the middle of the park after the break. Loca and his teammates disappeared.

Juventus coach: Motta 4.5 – It’s understandable to suffer Napoli’s pressing, especially on a big night, but the Juventus boss didn’t do much to change the outcome or try to limit the Partenopei. Flat performance and flat substitutions.