Juventus prevented Inter Milan from replacing Napoli at the top of Serie A Sunday by defeating their ferocious rivals 1-0 and interrupting in the positions of the Italian Champions League.
Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would remain two points ahead of the champions in title Inter by returning class at home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertainment competition in Turin.
The striker of Portugal Conceicao scored his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after a brilliant work of Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third consecutive victory in the League.
Juve is in fourth place on 46 points, faced with the difference in goals with Lazio which had been waste in favor by holding Napoli in a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
But Napoli remains at the top with the Antonio Conte team and faces Naples in fifteen, a match that could well be the key to the destination of the Scudetto.
“The victory tonight gives us confidence and an awareness of what we are capable of,” said Thiago Motta, whose first season in charge of Juve was difficult.
“They deserve it for the effort they made during training and the fact that they give everything in every match.”
Jewish now turns their attention to the return leg on Wednesday from a Champions League dam match with PSV Eindhoven, with the Motta team leading 2-1 after the first leg in Turin.
Sunday’s match was not as exciting as the 4-4 draw in San Siro in October, but the score did not reflect the number of chances created by the two teams, and in particular the Inter.
– Interfuge Inter –
The Simone Inzaghi team was left to the fight against a time-missed cover in the first half, Lautaro Martinez was wasting the clearest opening.
Argentinian striker Martinez broke the bar of the beach with close range 10 minutes before half-time after being perfectly installed by Denzel Dumfries.
The back of Wing Dumfries was also at fault for Inter not leading to the break while he was heading for Martinez’s cross when he is completely trivialized in the 19th minute and just before the break, an effort of the post with Martinez Waiting for a TAP-IN in the middle of the penalty box.
None of the two parties created another decent chance before Conceicao, who also forced an excellent backup of Yann Sommer in the first half, sent fans at home and Motta Wild to celebrate.
And Inter knew that the match was increasing when the replacement Marcus Thuram, who played his brother Khephren while his father Lilian was looking in stands, sank into the last moments.
“We are really disappointed, but the boys played well tonight,” said Inzaghi.
“Obviously, we had to be better in front of the goal and we should have been ahead of half-time, but the approach in the second period was not as good as in the first.”
– Como survival boost –
The Como center has moved away from the Serie A relegation area with a convincing 2-0 victory in Fiorentina.
Assane Diao and Nico Paz struck in each half to give Como a surprise success in Florence who broke a sequence of three defeats and moved them to 13th.
The Cesc Fabregas team is five points above Parma, which is sitting just inside the relegation area after losing 1-0 against Roma, after a deserved victory at the Stadio Artemio crossed.
The rich work center has invested massively in the winter transfer window in the hope of staying in Serie A and Diao scored its fourth goal in seven games since his arrival from Real Betis.
But the Argentinian international Paz was the star of the show in Como and he sealed the victory in the 66th minute with a rocket of a shot which carried his total of six goals.
Alessandro Nesta began his second fate as a manager of Monza with a draw with Lecce, which did not do much to stimulate their hopes of survival.
Monza recalled the Italian icon Nesta on Monday after having replaced Salvatore Bocchetti, but remains rock-boot and seven points behind Empoli, which is sitting just outside the fall zone and was beaten 3-0 in Udinese .
TD / DJ