Thiago Motta and Antonio Conte studied each other a lot. After all, we are talking about two of the greatest tacticians in our league, it was necessary if one wanted to dominate the other. But neither of them succeeded. In fact, they blocked each other: Juventus-Napoli is an interesting match from a technical point of view, certainly less so from a spectacle point of view. Few shots, practically no real scoring opportunities and so it comes out 0-0. The third in a row for the Bianconeri, the first for the Azzurri who stop after three consecutive victories.
How much balance
The big surprise, even before the kick-off, is to see Napoli no longer with the 3-4-2-1 but with a four-man defense, with one Mazzocchi less and a midfielder, McTominay in this case, more, to act as an attacking midfielder; Di Lorenzo returns to play in his role as full-back. And so it is 4-2-3-1. A module that mirrors that of Juventus. The result is a rather tactical first half of the game, blocked, without particular emotions and with very few goal-scoring opportunities. The first comes as early as the half-hour mark, with a gift from Vlahovic in the development phase that sends McTominay on the counterattack: the shot from outside the box by the most anticipated man of the day, the former Manchester United player, is defused by Di Gregorio.
Meret’s injury and Di Gregorio’s save
Nothing significant happens in the two penalty areas, except for the muscle injury suffered by Meret that forces Conte to change in the 36th minute: the former Udinese player is out, Caprile is in, making his official debut. In the minutes of injury time, the biggest chance of the match, on a free kick for Napoli: Politano’s kick crosses the entire penalty area and puts Di Gregorio in difficulty, who manages to parry it thanks to a great reflex. And so the first half of the game ends 0-0.
Everything blocked
At half-time, Motta replaces Vlahovic, despite not having a substitute in form, and chooses Weah in his place: it sounds a lot like a failure for the former Fiorentina player, impalpable in the first half. With a more mobile striker, however, the script does not change. Indeed, Napoli shows itself a little more and comes close to scoring with Politano, who from the edge puts it just over. On this occasion, Koopmeiners responds, whose curling shot ends up wide. And also Weah, in the final, with a right-footed shot deflected out. The only highs in a second half made of lows, especially in rhythm, and highs only from a tactical point of view. Thiago Motta and Conte get bogged down, until the end, and at the Stadium only boredom wins: Juventus and Napoli go blank.