For many people, myself included, the early weekend Serie A games were of irrelevance as the biggest fixture of round 30 loomed large; Napoli v Juventus and the return to the San Paolo of Gonzalo Higuain.

 

Yet while my mind was focused solely on getting to 7:45pm and sitting down to watch my side in action, Roma had done their job and taken care of Empoli with ease; a 2-0 win with yet two more Edin Dzeko goals, taking them 5 points clear of Napoli and to within 5 of Juventus. 

 

And so, to the main event. Napoli had been rocked by the news that Pepe Reina would be unavailable due to a calf injury, Maurizio Sarri saying that the 'keeper would make the final call and his judgement would be trusted; reports later confirmed that Reina felt pain while making "certain movements" and so in came Rafael, who hadn't played a Serie A match in over a year.

 

In another shock move, to observers out with the Napoli support at least, Ghoulam was replaced by Ivan Strinic at left back. Given that Strinic has an impressive 7-0 win ration in Serie A while deputising for Ghoulam, his inclusion was welcomed by Napoli fans who have witnessed a severe decrease in the quality of the Algerian's displays.

 

Juventus coach Max Allegri had cast doubt over the fitness of Mario Mandzukic ahead of this game due a knee strain picked up on international duty, but he was fit to start while Argentine wonderkid, Paolo Dybala was on the bench with Marchisio with Khedira anchoring the midfield.

 

And yet, for as hyped up as the San Paolo crowd were; whistles being handed out pre match to give fans the opportunity to make as much noise as possible for the return of Higuain, the atmosphere seemed to startle the Napoli players more than those in dark blue. 

 

The home side, once again in their white change kit, fell behind after just 7 minutes as Sami Khedira played a delightful one-two on the edge of the box and the weak left arm of Rafael could do nothing to stop the ball bobbling into the net. The San Paolo fell silent; this wasn't in the script.

 

However Napoli finally came to life and from the moment they went a goal down there was only one side who looked the more likely to score. Before half time alone Napoli could, and should, have been 3-1 ahead with Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik, and Lorenzo Insigne all failing to score from gilt edged chances; the latter curling a sumptuous effort just wide of Buffon's top left corner after dancing through the Juventus defence.

 

Juventus seemed more content to sit deep and hit on the break; perhaps Allegri was testing out their defensive shape ahead of Barcelona or simply didn't want to give too much away ahead of the midweek Coppa Italia second leg.

 

Whatever the reason, either tactically or because of Napoli's continued onslaught, the equaliser finally came as Marek Hamsik, who else, drew the attention of three Juventus players before slipping the ball to Mertens. In one beautiful move, Hamsik slipped his markers and moved into the space he'd created and Mertens found him with a lovely reverse pass which the skipper made no mistake with as he drilled a first-time curling effort into the top corner before Buffon could move.

 

The San Paolo erupted, Hamsik wheeled away in trademark fashion, and Daniele Bellini entered his trademark post-goal routine as the San Paolo faithful roared Hamsik's name over and over. You may call me biased, and I may well be, but in the Italian game nothing comes close to the noise of a capacity Neapolitan crowd.

 

The main talking point before the game was of Higuain's return to Naples and the striker looked timid at best, with not a single touch taken inside the Napoli penalty area all night; his most noticeable contribution came as he was on the receiving end of a Dries Mertens tackle as the little Belgian fracked back and won the ball much to the delight of the home crowd.

 

Higuain would later say he didn't deserve the treatment he received in Naples from the crowd; perhaps be underestimates the impact of his cloak & dagger medical and the manner in which he left the club.

 

Mertens himself had a glorious chance to put Napoli 2-1 ahead as he tackled Buffon after a careless pass-back by Asamoah, but the ball trundled just too wide as Mertens took control tight on the touch line and could only hit the post from the most acute of angles.

 

The final, and most despairing chance of the night came when Zielinski played a wonderful ball to the back post that found Callejon unmarked and his headed knockback into the six yard box left an open goal begging but no one was there in white to capitalise; Arek Milik must have been on the bench tearing his hair out in frustration as it's the kind of area he would have been in and an opportunity he would have relished.

 

1-1 is how it finished with the teams having it all to do again on Wednesday in Naples with a Coppa Italia final spot on the line. Napoli will feel they are more than capable of pulling off the win required, but that depends on whether or not they put away the chances they create. 

 

Bizarrely, Juventus came to Naples and posed Napoli less problems than either Palermo or even Roma did this season, oddly content to sit in and be tough to break down. Whether or not Allegri adopts this approx on Wednesday remains to be seen but, it would be wise to remember that Napoli were 3-1 down to Real Madrid from a first leg knock out tie and for 45 minutes the European champions couldn't live with them.

 

It would be madness to write off Napoli in the Coppa game, especially since it remains the only chance of silverware this season given that the draw on Sunday effectively ended any extremely thin chances of a final Scudetto push.


James McGhie