From the first-half whistles to the applause in the 90th minute, Spalletti's Juve remained on a rollercoaster ride but took a giant triple step toward qualifying for the Champions League play-offs. A 2-0 win against Pafos, scored by McKennie and David in the space of six minutes, put them on nine points, exactly halfway between the near-impossible dream of making the magnificent eight that will advance to the round of 16 without a play-off and the nightmare of elimination.

Napoli, on the other hand, lost 2-0 at Benfica, with goals from Rios in the 19th minute and Barreiro in the 49th minute.

Juventus victory

Spalletti launched Zhegrova from the start, placing him in the attacking midfield alongside Yildiz to support David. The surprise midfielder was Miretti, partnering captain Locatelli, while McKennie and Cambiaso played on the flanks, and the defensive line was forced: Bremer and Rugani returned to the bench, while Kalulu, Kelly, and Koopmeiners were confirmed in front of Di Gregorio. Three heroes from the 1985 Intercontinental Cup, Tacconi, Bonini, and Brio, were also in the stands, while a smiling Vlahovic on crutches watched the warm-up on the sidelines. Carcedo lined up his Pafos side with a three-man backline, with veteran David Luiz leading Luckassen and Goldar. Up front, Dragomir and Correia were deployed behind Anderson, the men Spalletti feared the most. The Cypriots' first chance came after just five minutes, with Anderson turning with a backheel and hitting the outside of the post. Di Gregorio saved the Kelly-Cambiaso rebound, then Juve tried to shake things up with the usual Yildiz, who in the eighth minute attempted a curling right-footed shot but was saved by Michael. The tempo was high, and two minutes later, Koopmeiners found himself all alone on a corner kick and overshot his header.

The Bianconeri's momentum, however, quickly fizzled out, and Pafos began to gain momentum, even creating the better chances: in the 32nd minute, Anderson hit the post, and from the continuation of the move, he struck McKennie. The Stadium groaned, and Juve had to wait until the end of the first half to see them again, with David missing a goal from close range. Spalletti's team returned to the locker room amidst boos. For the second half, the coach brought on Conceicao in place of Zhegrova and switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Koopmeiners advanced into midfield alongside Locatelli and Miretti in the attacking midfield. The Dutchman immediately threatened in his new position, shooting from outside the box and forcing Michael to stretch to his right, who also did well to block Conceicao shortly thereafter. Spalletti makes his Juve even more offensive with the Openda-Locatelli substitution, Carcedo responds by recalling Anderson to launch Quina.

The opening goal, however, came from the unexpected: Cambiaso saw space for McKennie, who scored with a powerful, precise right-footed shot under the crossbar. Pafos pushed forward in search of an equalizer and left open spaces, but Yildiz launched a counterattack and fed David a single pass to slot home for the 2-0. Now the Champions League chapter is over, and the final push for qualification will have to wait until 2026: at the end of January, Benfica will be at the Stadium and Monaco will be away to seal the deal.

Here Naples

Napoli took a significant step back from their brilliant league victory over Juventus last Sunday. Conte's team, lacking the concentration, clarity, and fighting spirit they'd seen against the Bianconeri, lost 2-0 to Mourinho's Benfica, putting their playoff qualification in doubt. The Azzurri will have to play their final two group matches in Copenhagen and at home against Chelsea. All is not lost yet—Napoli currently sits in 23rd place in the table, the second-to-last spot for qualification—but the setback in Portugal is certainly serious, especially given the way it played out, with Conte's team unable to fight with determination and courage. Napoli started the match with a decidedly subdued spirit, appearing listless and unfocused. Benfica capitalized and created two extremely dangerous chances in the first 20 minutes, aided largely by the passive attitude of Conte's midfield and defense. In the first instance, Ivanovic was left alone in front of the opponent's goal, but Milinkovic-Savic managed to deflect the striker's shot. Seven minutes later, the Napoli goalkeeper gifted the ball to Aursnes, who didn't immediately finish and ended up sending the ball wide with a lopsided effort. However, in the 19th minute, Benfica took the lead with a little luck. McTominay headed a cross from the left, but the ball bounced off Ivanovic's body and right in front of goal, where Rios needed only a touch with the sole of his foot to send it past Milinkovic-Savic. From this point on, Napoli began to play with greater initiative and determination, and the Azzurri quickly began to create a few scoring opportunities. Di Lorenzo sent the ball just wide of Trubin's post with a header, and Neres' offensive contribution began to become more consistent. Hojlund attempted a shot that was blocked by Otamendi, and McTominay headed in from a good position, but Benfica remained in the lead until the end of the first half. At the start of the second half, Conte brought on Politano for Beukema and Spinazzola for Olivera, but Benfica didn't give their opponents time to organize their attacking play and doubled their lead in the fourth minute. The move developed on the right. Ivanovic found Rios, who fired a low shot into the center of the area. Barreiro beat Rrahmani and back-heeled the ball past Milinkovic-Savic. The other changes made by the two coaches didn't change the outcome of the match, which ended with a long but fruitless siege by Napoli that, however, had no real impact.

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata