Juventus responds to the criticisms of the last few weeks as only the big teams know how to do: by winning. And it does so by clearing Naples 3-1, thus "avenging" the defeat of Doha in the Super League Cup on 22 December and winning the title of winter champion with one round to spare (even if they arrive equal to the mid-season finish , the bianconeri would be ahead of Roma for the victory in the direct match). Not only that, because Buffon and his companions find a success at San Paolo that had been missing for 14 years (it was 30 September 2000, Napoli-Juve 1-2).
The match, preceded by San Paolo's heartfelt tribute to Pino Daniele, was blocked until Juventus took the lead, which arrived in the 29th minute of the first half thanks to a splendid volley from Pogba that left Rafael no chance. In the second half, Napoli threw themselves into the attack, finding an equalizer thanks to Britos' volley from a corner kick. Just when it seemed that Napoli could overturn the match, after five minutes the new Juventus advantage arrived, with Caceres' paw on a free kick from Pirlo.
Goal probably spoiled by offside, which at the end of the match sent President De Laurentiis into a rage, who tweeted: “We're tired! Juve are a strong team, if they are also helped by the referees they become unbeatable. It is unacceptable that with 6 referees you don't see 2 players offside. Either it's bad faith or it's incompetence. These 6 referees have to stay still for a long time”. The reply from Juventus director Marotta lasts: “We do not accept the statements of president De Laurentiis, we reject the fact that every time we win the victories are affected by alleged errors by referees and assistants. We also reject the fact that we are always accused of theft without giving a broader assessment of what happens on other fields”.
Napoli suffered the blow but still tried to equalize, before the deadly counterattack in full stoppage time finalized by Vidal with a great left into the top corner for the final 3-1. Buffon underlined the importance of the victory (“Tonight was the right time to demonstrate that we are always and still a great team”), while Allegri responded both to those who saw Juve in crisis and to De Laurentiis' complaints: “Between Sampdoria and Inter have suffered contrary arbitration decisions and we have never made any controversy. The decision on Caceres was not an easy decision to make, in a championship you suffer decisions against and decisions in favor. It was a painful victory, something that hadn't happened to us yet this year. We need to improve, we were criticized after the match against Inter, but victories come through suffering, and if you think that Juve have to play attack for 90', that's wrong. We've had an excellent first leg up to now, but we know that Roma won't give up until the end."
The Neapolitan regret is all in Benitez's words: “Juventus played a good first half without creating much, however. After our draw we were doing well, then came the episode of Caceres' goal. It wasn't easy to see the offside because Chiellini was up front. Of course this episode changed the game, because for a team that has just found an equalizer and with the crowd pushing you from a mental point of view, it's not easy to find yourself underneath again, even if we still tried to score."
