Juventus plunged Napoli deeper into crisis.

Despite being the Serie A champions of the 2022-2023 season, Napoli is showing signs of faltering compared to their rivals this season. Their championship-winning core remains, but Napoli is displaying a lackluster style of play and is easily defeated in crucial matches. In round 14, they suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat against league leaders Inter Milan. Napoli has been knocked out of the top four and is now 11 points behind the leaders. Coach Walter Mazzarri, chosen to replace Rudi Garcia, is facing significant criticism ahead of the upcoming match against Juventus.

The events at the Allianz Arena continued to disappoint Napoli fans. Walter Mazzarri's players held possession for 70% of the time and unleashed 13 shots, but failed to score a single goal. Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen – Napoli's two biggest stars – continued to be invisible in big matches. They played disappointingly and received the lowest ratings of the game. The players around them also showed a lack of cohesion and frequently criticized each other after missed opportunities.

In contrast to Napoli, Juventus is displaying a disciplined style of play in the 2023-2024 season. "The Old Lady" accepts having less possession than their opponents and waits for opportunities to decide the match. Federico Gatti demonstrated coach Massimiliano Allegri's tactical intentions by scoring the only goal in the 51st minute, securing three points for Juventus.

Federico Gatti scored to help Juventus beat Napoli.

Despite winning against Napoli, coach Massimiliano Allegri said he and his players haven't thought about competing for the championship yet. He shared: "Tonight's victory is very important because we are now 12 points ahead of Napoli, and that's a great result."

Regarding our dream and the Scudetto, we need to continue improving step by step, especially after making so many mistakes. We played well in the first half, moving the ball from side to side, and then in difficult moments, the team became a unit. Napoli had a lot of possession, but not many chances. We could even say in the dressing room that we have ambitions to win the Scudetto, but you need to get results. It's no use talking about what could happen, we need to focus on what we have now.”

In contrast to coach Massimiliano Allegri, center-back Danilo celebrated enthusiastically after the victory against Napoli. The Brazilian player stated on DAZN: “We certainly have a dream of winning the championship, but our main goal is to stay in the top four. Obviously, we can also dream, but we have to perform well in each game.”

Coach Massimiliano Allegri hasn't thought about the title race yet.

At the end of the match, Napoli's players were further angered when Juventus fans chanted "Neapolitan," a song once considered the "national anthem" of Napoli. The Allianz Stadium was sold out with over 41,000 fans, including 2,099 from Naples. The Napoli players were furious and, without greeting the fans, walked straight into the tunnel.

Victor Osimhen has been largely absent from Napoli's important matches.

Juventus' 1-0 victory over Napoli temporarily propelled them to the top of the table with 36 points. Meanwhile, Napoli continued their disappointing run of form and remain in fifth place with 24 points. They could even drop further down the table if Fiorentina and Bologna win their matches in round 15.

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