Juventus Vs. Napoli: Scoreless at the break

It may be scoreless at the break, but there’s been no shortage of drama in the match between Juventus and Napoli. The two sides have toned it down just a bit from the SuperCoppa final in August, but the fouls and antics are still thick on the ground. Juve have come off worse for the wear, with Leondardo Bonucci leaving in a stretcher in the 18th minute and coming back on with a bandage on his knee.*

The first chance of the half occurred within two minutes. Sebastian Giovinco made a beautiful run, cutting first inside then back out before firing his shot at the Napoli goal. Morgan De Sanctis could only push the ball away, but fortunately for the visitors, Paolo Cannavaro and Hugo Campagnaro were on hand to clear.

Giovinco had another chance before 15 minutes were up. He went one on one with the Napoli keeper, forcing another save from De Sanctis. But before anyone could pounce on the loose ball, play was halted for Giovinco’s foul on De Sanctis.

Napoli’s best chance came in the 26th minute, after Arturo Vidal brought down Gokhan Inler, just barely outside the area. Edinson Cavani stepped up for the free kick and went for goal, but his spectacular shot only managed to hit the upright.

In added time, Claudio Marchisio very nearly gave Juventus the lead. Stephan Lichtsteiner muscled his way through the partenopei defense before sending the ball on to Marchisio, who let lose with a screamer of a shot. De Sanctis managed to tip it above the crossbar, preserving the 0-0 scoreline.

*to be clear, this was a rare occasion that didn’t involve a Napoli player clattering into the opposition. Bonucci seemed to land wrong after challenging for a header.