Gonzalo Higuain Decisive as Juventus Defeat Napoli Once Again

As their team ventured north to Juventus Stadium on Saturday evening, fans of the southern club would have had two major fears. Foremost among them of course would be losing to the Bianconeri once again, the Partenopei already four points behind their opponents before the match in Turin got underway.

Their secondary source of dread was of course embodied by Gonzalo Higuain, the striker who left Napoli for their biggest rivals in a stunning summer transfer. The €90 million fee was never consolation enough for the loss of their deadly front man, especially after he struck 36 goals in just 35 Serie A appearances last term.

By the time the 90 minutes unfolded, both things would of course happen, the Old Lady simply proving too strong for the visitors and eventually taking all three points. Watching Higuain net the winning goal—handing his new side a 2-1 victory—only served to rub salt into the fresh and raw wound his move to Juventus had opened.

22 – Tonight vs Napoli, Juventus have won their 22nd consecutive home game in Serie A. Domination. pic.twitter.com/A9zmuqMfbP

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 29, 2016

It was harsh on Napoli. Coach Maurizio Sarri has not only had to combat the departure of his talismanic Argentinian star, but replacement Arkadiusz Milik suffered a torn ACL after scoring seven goals in his first nine matches as well.

A week ago, the only other striker in the squad was sent off against Crotone and suspended for two matches, a punishment which meant he was ruled out for the clash with Juventus. That prompted Sarri to field Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon in attack, a rapid unit that offered few reference points for the Juventus defence.

Once the match got underway however, the Bianconeri recognised their usual 3-5-2 formation needed tweaking to combat Sarri’s lineup. As can be seen in the image below, Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri switched to a four-man defence early into the tie, his players adapting seamlessly to the new system.

With Andrea Barzagli as a full-back and Stephan Lichtsteiner playing on the right of midfield, it was set to be a somewhat stunted formation, but an injury to Giorgio Chiellini proved to be a happy accident for the Bianconeri.

Many expected Medhi Benatia to be sent on, but Allegri was bold enough to use Juan Cuadrao instead, shifting Lichtsteiner to full-back and Barzagli into the centre of defence to accommodate the winger.

Given the recent form of the Colombia international—a subject discussed in this previous post—it was no surprise to see Juventus improve immediately. By full time, WhoScored.com figures show Cuadrado had completed three take-ons and created three clear scoring opportunities.

Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam had no answer …

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