Second-half goals from Piotr Zielinski and Lorenzo Insigne earned Napoli a hard-earned 2-1 win over leaders Juventus in San Paolo.
Gli Azzurri’s win marks their first in three Serie A bouts and ended the Old lady’s five-game winning streak.
Cristiano Ronaldo managed to extend his goalscoring streak to eight games in the final minutes of the match, but Juventus failed to go six point clear of second best Inter Milan, who drew on Sunday.
Following the game, the visitor’s boss, Maurizio Sarri, was delighted for Napoli, who he managed from 2015 to 2018.
“I am happy for the lads, as I will always be fond of them,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “If you have to lose, I guess I’d rather it be here to help Napoli get out of their current problems. I’d rather they started winning next week, of course.”
“Clearly, the game takes over and you have to detach yourself from everything around that,” he added.
“Napoli represented a special moment in my life and it’s always pleasing and emotional to be back here.”
As for Napoli, the home league victory – their first since October – takes loads of pressure from their back. The club, under the guidance of Gennaro Gattuso, had been struggling.
The club stands 10th with 27 points after 21 games, but has a long ways to go, according to Gattuso.
“We beat two good teams now, fine, but we are still in trouble, still a long way back and need to keep pushing,” he said.
“I congratulate the lads for the work they’ve done over the last seven days, but we have to keep going like this now, do not let up, focus on Napoli 24 hours a day.”
Up next for Napoli is Sampdoria, while Juventus host Fiorentina.
Elsewhere in Serie A
Inter Milan 1-1 Cagliari
Parma 2-0 Udinese
Sampdoria 0-0 Sassuolo
Verona 3-0 Lecce
Roma 1-1 Lazio
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SERIE A
