Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus lost the derby in Naples last night against Napoli. Meanwhile, in the Derby Della Capitale, played between Roma and Lazio, there were no winners.
Ronaldo Struck Late, Napoli Won
The reigning Italian champions missed a perfect opportunity for increasing their advantage over the title rivals. In the day when both of their biggest competitors recorded respective draws, the Old Lady suffered an unpleasant defeat against Napoli, 2-1.
The rivalry between Napoli and Juve is very intense, and over the past few seasons, the team from Turin was more successful in h2h clashes. Napoli, meanwhile, has enormous problems this season, and apart from changing the coach, replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Gennaro Gattuso, and just a few believed in their win here.
However, Piotr Zielinski and Lorenzo Insigne scored each one goal to upset the big opponent and make this Serie A title race even more interesting.
“We are happy that we won the game and beat Juventus. It’s a victory for us and for all of Naples,” said Insigne.
It was a dull game in the opening 45 minutes, but the second one was much better. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 90th minute of the match, but that was too late for anything to change.
Napoli’s former manager, Maurizio Sarri, who now leads Juventus, didn’t have a warm welcome, and many fans booed him throughout the event. However, he wasn’t feeling bad about that, and stated that he still has feelings for Partenopei.
“I am happy for the lads, as I will always be fond of them. If you have to lose, I guess I’d rather it be here to help Napoli get out of their current problems,” said Sarri.
Roma and Lazio Split a Point Each
The derby of the Italian capital was interesting as always, but this time, not because of the attractive moves, but due to goalkeepers errors.
At first, Tomas Strakosha, Lazio’s goalie, made a cardinal mistake, allowing Edin Dzeko to score and giving the hosts a lead. But Il Lupi couldn’t hold the edge for too long, and just 8 minutes later, Acerbi equalized after an equally bad reaction from Roma’s Pau Lopez.
The fans at the Olimpico stadium believed that they might see a few more goals in the second 45 minutes, but eventually, nothing happened.
Roma was better, they wanted to attack, and most of the time, they controlled the pace and dictated the tempo of the game. Yet, they couldn’t score.
Cengiz Under, the young Turkish international, was relentless, but he alone wasn’t able to breach Lazio’s defense.
Simone Inzaghi, the coach of the guests, admitted that Roma played better.
“Roma were better than us, it’s fair to say it,” he said at a post-game press conference.
Juventus now has 51 points, while Inter sits second with 48. Lazio has 46, but Inzaghi’s side has one game fewer than both teams in front of them, which is a great chance for them to improve their situation. Roma is fourth with 39.
