Defensive frailties and a lack of attacking imagination or intent cost Juventus, and the team succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The match provided an opportunity for Juventus to reignite a potential title challenge, but instead leaves them eight points behind the leaders and potentially out of the race.
A brace from Rasmus Højlund was enough to give Napoli the win, despite an excellent goal from Kenan Yildiz in the second half, which briefly drew Juventus level. However, that was Juventus’ first shot on target in the game and there was very little serious attacking threat otherwise, while Napoli had opportunities to inflict an even heavier defeat.
Here, we take a closer look at what went wrong, why Juventus offered such little attacking threat and where the team goes from here. Along the way, we will also share some of the fallout from the game, including post-match comments from the manager, Luciano Spalletti, and the club captain, Manuel Locatelli.
One of the biggest decisions made before the game was how to cope with the absence of Dusan Vlahovic. Arkadiusz Milik was also unavailable, so logically, Jonathan David and Loïs Openda would be the most obvious replacements for the Serbian striker. However, when the team sheet came in, both players were occupying positions on the bench.
Luciano Spalletti opted for an unusual solution instead, deploying attacking midfielder Kenan Yildiz in the role. In truth, the role he was asked to play was more like a ‘false 9’, rather than a conventional striker. He was also supported in the attack by Francisco Conceição, who is also not really a conventional centre forward.
Unfortunately, it was a decision that backfired. Yildiz failed to make any sort of impression on the Napoli defence throughout the first half. The team could not make chances for him and he was not able to bring others into play effectively or create a moment of magic for himself. Instead, he was handled effortlessly by Napoli’s defence.
“Yildiz, as a central forward, always had an opponent behind him and wasn’t able to express himself at his best,” Spalletti admitted after the game, acknowledging that the decision had failed. However, he also expressed his belief that it could have worked. “I feel Yildiz and Conceição can do those roles, as they pass the ball around well.”
During the second half, Spalletti opted to move Yildiz into a more natural position and he immediately looked more comfortable on the field and had a bigger influence on the game. If Spalletti could rewind time and pick his starting 11 again, it is likely he would opt for a more conventional approach to replacing the injured Vlahovic.
Dealing with injuries to first-choice players is a major challenge for the Juventus manager right now and this is especially apparent in defensive positions. Ahead of the game, he knew he would be without Brazilian centre back Gleison Bremer and the Italians Federico Gatti and Daniele Rugani.
This meant Dutch midfielder Teun Koopmeiners would be needed to occupy one of the centre back positions. Yet, Koopmeiners visibly struggled to cope with the pace of Napoli’s attacking players and especially David Neres. Spalletti is aware that deploying Koopmeiners at centre back is far from ideal, but said it was a necessity.
“Yes, it was a forced choice,” he explained after the match. “With three defenders out for months, there are no alternatives. It’s normal for him to struggle one-on-one against top-level players.”
Of course, Teun Koopmeiners was not the only player on the defensive side of the field to struggle with Napoli’s attacking threats. Juan Cabal put in a disappointing performance in the wing-back position, while Frenchman Pierre Kalulu was arguably lucky to stay on the pitch after a badly timed tackle on Mathias Olivera.
English defender Lloyd Kelly was poor for one of Højlund’s goals and looked uncomfortable throughout the match. Meanwhile, Weston McKennie made a clear error that led to a goal, adding to the defensive woes.
Juventus’ current defensive vulnerabilities are unfortunate and any team in Serie A would struggle to deal with injuries to three key defenders. However, the issue is obvious and anyone going to Stake.com and looking to bet on a Juventus match in the near future would be advised to take this into consideration when predicting the score.
Napoli dominated the first half and perhaps could have scored more goals than they did. It was down to Spalletti to try to use substitutions to turn the tide. Yet, in reality, his choices were a mixed bag and it felt like one decision, in particular, actually squandered some momentum in the second half.
First, the positives: Spalletti was right to take Juan Cabal off for the second half and to introduce Jonathan David as an attacking threat. Cabal performed poorly in the first half and, as stated, the ‘false 9’ experiment with Kenan Yildiz was clearly not working, so a new approach was needed to try to create more chances.
The change paid off quickly too. Locatelli won possession with a great challenge and a passing move involving Cambiaso, Conceição, McKennie and Yildiz ended with the young Turkish star finishing excellently to equalise.
At this point, it briefly felt like momentum was with Juventus and they may be able to secure a valuable draw or even push for an unlikely win. However, it felt like Spalletti allowed the game to drift away instead.
“We did better in the second half, as we went man for man, but still suffered with the pace and quality of the Napoli counter-attack,” Spalletti said. “After the equaliser, we took control of the match, but again we were too obvious, too predictable, didn’t force through the situation as a team. We didn’t try to do something extra.”
Around the 75-minute mark, the decision was made to replace Kenan Yildiz with Loïs Openda. Just a few minutes later, Rasmus Højlund scored his second goal and Napoli were able to hold out to claim a valuable win.
Speaking to the press after the match, Luciano Spalletti attempted to justify the decision by pointing out the price tag of Openda and the fact that he is a talented player in his own right.
“Last week, you argued that I should rest Kenan,” he remarked pointedly to journalists during his press conference. “Openda came on in the 75th minute. He is a player we paid €45 to 50 million to sign.”
However, the truth is, Kenan Yildiz leaving the field would have been received positively on the Napoli bench and by the Napoli players. He had just moved back into his preferred position and had scored Juventus’ goal. Within the context of the game, resting him and bringing on Openda felt like the wrong decision and a momentum killer.
It is only fair to also acknowledge Napoli’s performance in all of this. They put on a solid, professional display, where they had more total shots, more shots on target, more clear-cut chances and generally looked much more threatening than Juventus. They also edged Juventus in terms of possession and overall control of the game.
Rasmus Højlund was clinical in attack, finishing two of his three big chances, while David Neres and Scott McTominay put in solid performances too, with McTominay coming close to scoring with a header.
Tactically, it felt like Antonio Conte got the major decisions right and he was largely able to nullify Juventus. Luciano Spalletti’s men found it difficult to gain a foothold in midfield and Napoli seemed to cope with their absences more effectively; after all, they came into the game without the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
“The coach had asked us to keep the ball and pass it around to create superiority in the midfield,” Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli told DAZN Italia. “But they pressed us well and we made mistakes that we should not be making.”
Worryingly, this was the seventh consecutive win for Napoli against Juventus at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. That particular win streak dates all the way back to the 2019-20 season. It is always difficult to know how much to read into statistics like this, but it is possible that a psychological barrier is emerging.
The result keeps Napoli in contention at the top of Serie A, alongside the two Milan teams, and marks a third consecutive win in the league for Conte’s men. It is worth noting that if you went onto a soccer betting website before the game, Napoli were the favourites before kick-off, taking into account the form of the teams. It is just the harsh and uncomfortable reality that Juventus are not necessarily expected to win away at Napoli right now.
It is fair to say the current Juventus squad has some deficiencies, even if everybody was fit. Right now, this is not a squad that contains the level of player that has historically been associated with La Vecchia Signora. There is a lack of talent on the level of past greats like Buffon, Del Piero, Nedved, Zidane or Platini.
Kenan Yildiz is one of the best young players in the world and is the one player who seems to take responsibility in the attacking third and make things happen. However, he is also still only 20 years old and needs other quality players around him to share the burden. Now is also not the right time to experiment with his role.
Meanwhile, the captain, Manuel Locatelli, helps to dictate the tempo of play and always makes himself available for a pass. He takes responsibility in the middle of the field and is a solid presence in the team. There are other talented players in the side too, including French international, Khéphren Thuram.
But the current Juventus squad is not filled with players who are the envy of European giants and it feels reasonable to say the club is in a transitional phase. This transition has perhaps not been helped by the lack of managerial stability, with Luciano Spalletti the third full-time manager at the club since May 2024.
Even Spalletti is currently only contracted to stay with Juventus until the end of the 2025-26 season. There is an option to renew, but it is believed this is based around obtaining Champions League qualification, which is far from certain. This lack of stability within upper management does make it difficult to build a cohesive squad.
Historically, the great Juventus teams of the past have also had a strong foundation of excellent homegrown talent. However, it is also a reality that it is difficult for Serie A clubs to find exceptional Italian players at the moment. This is a phenomenon that has been commented on by managers of other clubs too, including Cesc Fabregas at Como. It has been suggested that this could be part of a wider problem with Italian youth development.
Nevertheless, other clubs have managed to adjust to this reality, including Napoli, Inter and AC Milan. It is going to be important for Juventus to make smart moves during the January transfer window to bolster the squad. From there, finishing as high up the table as possible could open transfer possibilities for the summer.
It is important not to overreact to the 2-1 defeat against Napoli, who are near the top of Serie A for a reason. The current injury crisis at Juventus was always going to make this a difficult game, but it was disappointing that Juventus were unable to put on a better showing and cause Napoli more problems in their defensive third.
The experiment with Kenan Yildiz in the ‘false 9’ role felt like a failure and it would be a surprise to see Luciano Spalletti return to it any time soon, although he cannot be entirely blamed for attempting to come up with creative solutions. It was more disappointing that he was not able to capitalise on the momentum shift when the game moved to 1-1 and ultimately, the game slipped away from Juventus in the second half.
At the same time, poor defending from Juventus and an inability to gain a foothold in midfield meant Napoli deserved the win and the scoreline could have been worse. It feels difficult to imagine Juventus will mount a serious title challenge from here, so finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League must become the main focus.
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