JUVENTUS TO GO ON THE ESCAPE. NAPLES TO GET BACK IN THE RACE. THE FIRST CROSSROADS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS STAGED AT SAN PAOLO.
It won't be decisive for the Scudetto, but Napoli – Juventus (tonight; 20.45 pm) cannot be considered a match like any other. The stakes are high, much more than the calendar would suggest. Juve are well aware that in the event of a victory at the San Paolo they could no longer hide, assuming that someone still believes in Antonio Conte's low tones. The almost perfect start to the season (no defeats in 11 games and 3 direct clashes out of 3 won) brought the bianconeri to first place in the standings, one point above Milan with one game to recover (tonight's to be precise) . You certainly don't need to be a quantum physicist to realize that in case of success Juventus would take off on the Rossoneri, who play well and win but are still behind.
That said, the Bianconeri's victory is anything but obvious, because Naples is a very difficult field and because, for the first time this season, Conte will have to deal with physical tiredness. Juve comes from a demanding away game, in which they spent a lot of energy (including psychological). The Juventus coach will also have to do without Marchisio, who was disqualified after being booked by Roma, and will be forced to make Pirlo work overtime. But Conte isn't afraid of his opponent, just great respect: "I expect a tough, vibrant match, a match for us perhaps the most demanding since the start of the season, where we will face a team that is doing great things, a team that certainly demonstrates as with a project, with a job, important results are obtained. So this credit goes to the Napoli club, to Mazzarri, to the players, who have really built something beautiful in the space of a few years."
Then the question about the Scudetto and Conte's usual dribbling, which has now become a pleasant (?) habit, is inevitable: “It would be too easy for us to use triumphal tones or get excited about what we are doing; we should have been born yesterday to behave this way. Instead, we know that there are many difficulties on our way, we know, precisely because we have been in football for a long time, the difficulties of re-proposing ourselves at certain levels after disastrous years anyway. So we are very careful and we don't even hide, because every now and then I read that 'it's time to stop hiding', but hide from what?!”.
Yes, it's impossible to back down after such an important start to the season. Napoli will say a lot about Juventus' progress and the continuation of the championship. Because it shouldn't be forgotten that even the hosts could get back into the running if they win this direct match. The Azzurri are paying for the Champions League, but in a week everything will be over (in one sense or another), and at best the cup would only become a "problem" again in February. This is why Napoli - Juventus will be a very important crossroads for the fight for the Scudetto. Who knows if Antonio Conte, in his heart, agrees with us?
