Juve fight back to nab draw at Napoli
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Xinhua, November 30, 2011
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Mirko Vucinic (R) of Juventus and Salvatore Aronica of Napoli in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match SSC Napoli vs Juventus FC at San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, 29 November 2011. |
Serie A leaders Juventus extended their unbeaten record this season after they fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with hosts Napoli on Tuesday.
Napoli enjoyed a dreamy opening as they raced to a 2-0 lead before the break, but suffered a nightmarish ending after conceding two goals in the last 18 minutes.
Marek Hamsik opened the account for the hosts before Goran Pandev also found the net. Alessandro Matri pulled one back for Juve, and Pandev's second restored the two-goal lead before Marcelo Estigarribia and Simone Pepe scored to earn Juve a draw.
Napoli head coach Walter Mazzarri blamed his side's slump in the second half on fatigue.
"We had a spectacular first half while our strength held out, but unfortunately we paid the price for the many fixtures. When the games notch up, you pay for it," he said.
"I didn't want the half-time break to come, as our enthusiasm could've kept us going for another 15 minutes. On the 3-1 with Goran Pandev's goal, I honestly thought we had won it, even if we were struggling in terms of stamina," he said.
Juventus head coach Antonio Conte praised his side's heartening performance.
"There were some very strong responses in terms of character. Aside from the head, legs and tactics, without heart you cannot fight back and put a game like this back on track," he said.
In-form Napoli striker Edinson Cavani failed a fitness test before the match but there was no shortage of attacking action in a match where chances came at regular intervals.
Ezequiel Lavezzi was fouled by Andrea Pirlo after 13 minutes to win a penalty for the hosts, with Hamsik converting it.
The referee ordered a retake for an infringement and this time Hamsik lifted his spot-kick over the crossbar.
He took only 10 minutes cancelling out his debt, though, finding room in a crowded area to nod home from close range.
Napoli were dominating the pace-setters at this stage, with Pandev and Lavezzi both presented with good chances to make it 2-0.
The former took his second opportunity five minutes from the interval, taking advantage of Pirlo's error before wrong-footing Giorgio Chiellini and slotting past Gianluigi Buffon.
Juve were on the scoresheet three minutes into the second half, Matri converting following some fine work by Arturo Vidal.
Mirko Vucinic and Lavezzi exchanged chances before Napoli's third goal arrived in the 67th minute.
Pandev was again the scorer after defender Leonardo Bonucci hesitated under pressure.
That left Juve struggling to avoid defeat for the 12th time in the league season, but they found a way.
Estigarribia made it 3-2 when he latched on to Matri's headed pass in the 72nd minute and beat Morgan de Sanctis with his right- footed effort.
Six minutes later the night's scoring was ended, Juve breaking quickly after Walter Gargano lost the ball in midfield and Pepe winning his one-on-one with De Sanctis.
