After a goalless draw in Turin, Juventus and Antonio Conte Napoli both lost the opportunity to take the lead in Serie A.
Torino, who had triumphed over Hellas Verona 3-2, held onto first place following a tense draw at the Allianz Stadium on Friday.
Just before the half, Scotland’s Scott McTominay came close for Napoli with a shot from the edge of the box that Michele di Gregorio saved. Also, the Juventus goalkeeper was again called upon to tip away a free kick by Matteo Politano.
Early in the second half, Politano missed the crossbar from eighteen yards for Antonio Conte’s team, and Teun Koopmeiners curled over for Juventus from a good position.
With 10 points, Napoli is now in third place, one point ahead of Torino and ahead of Juventus, who are now in fourth place following three straight league draws.
Antonio Conte named new Napoli coach
The former Bianconeri hero was met with boos upon his return to Juventus and a full stadium. Before leaving Juventus under controversial circumstances in 2014, Conte, a 13-year Juventus player, led the team to the first three of its nine consecutive Serie A titles. As the head coach of Inter Milan, Juventus’s bitter rival, he has returned to Allianz Stadium three times, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, none of the fans were present each time.
Today, the 55-year-old coaches a different rival of Bianconeri, Napoli. The announcement of Conte’s name seemed to intensify the loud boos that had been heard when the Napoli team was read out.
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Antonio Conte, a former manager of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, was named Napoli’s new manager for a three-year term. Since leaving Spurs in March 2023 by mutual consent after 16 months in charge, Conte has not managed a club. Even though his time in North London was disappointing, Conte has had a distinguished coaching career. Prior to being fired in 2018, he had won the FA Cup in his second season at Chelsea and the Premier League in his first (2016–17).
The major Italian match of the weekend takes place at San Siro on Sunday between Inter Milan and city rivals AC Milan.
Image credit: @juventusfc via X