Napoli returned to the top of Serie A as a Rasmus Hojlund double earned the champions a 2-1 victory over Juventus at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, handing Luciano Spalletti his first defeat since taking charge of the Turin side.
Both coaches were facing familiar territory, with Spalletti and Antonio Conte each coming up against clubs where they had previously lifted the Scudetto. It was Conte’s Napoli who settled quicker, threatening after just six minutes when Scott McTominay glanced a David Neres cross just past the post.
Juventus did not learn from that early warning. Moments later, Neres again found space on the right and drilled a low ball across the area, where Hojlund reacted sharply to turn in from close range and give Napoli the lead.
The visitors saw more of the ball after falling behind, but struggled to turn possession into meaningful chances. Napoli were content to drop deeper for a spell before reasserting themselves, and came close to a second when an agile Michele Di Gregorio tipped over Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s firm header.
Clear openings were scarce in a tense first half, although McTominay again went close just before the break, heading narrowly wide from a corner to complete a frustrating trio of missed chances for the midfielder.
After half time, Hojlund almost struck again, driving forward powerfully before forcing Di Gregorio into another smart save as the goalkeeper helped his effort over the bar. McTominay then saw a low free kick fizz just wide, continuing a theme of near misses for the Bianconeri.
Juventus finally made their pressure count just before the hour. A flowing move was finished in style by Kenan Yildiz, who exchanged a neat one two with Weston McKennie and squeezed his shot past Vanja Milinkovic Savic from a tight angle to restore parity.
However, the visitors were level for only a short spell. With twelve minutes remaining, Neres once more delivered from the right, McKennie’s header back across goal fell perfectly for Hojlund, and the Danish striker nodded in his second of the night to restore Napoli’s advantage.
Conte’s men then managed the closing stages with maturity, limiting Juventus to half-chances and preserving a home league record that now stretches to a full year without defeat.
Juve, meanwhile, remain stuck on a single away win in the league this season and now trail the new leaders by eight points, underlining the size of the task facing Spalletti in Turin.
