After a dismal start in Serie A amid clubs being embroiled in controversy and manager change, Napoli ultimately turned around for good. Theyheld their nerve to beat Juventus 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the Coppa Italia final and claim the first major trophy in six seasons.
Arkadiusz Milik scored the winning goal from spot-kick as Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed from the spot for Juventus. The Argentinian had seen his shot saved, before team-mate Danilo blazed the second over the bar.
The penalty shootout was the option, as the match was held up at 0-0 after hard-fought 90 minutes behind closed doors at the Stadio Olimpico.
It was the first major trophy for Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso as a manager. However, for his opposite number Maurizio Sarri it is another lost piece of potential silverware.
So far in his career – which included a hugely successful three-year spell at Napoli that saw him regularly contesting for the title – Sarri has had one trophy last year with Chelsea, which won Europa League immediately before Sarri shifted his base to Turin.
Commenting on Serie A title, which was previously won by Juventus for last eight years in a row, would be too early with 10 matchday remaining. But the defending champions are trailed by Lazio with a difference of a point between them.
Napoli
1-Meret, 22-Di Lorenzo, 19-Maksimovic, 26-Koulibaly, 6-Mário Rui <Booked at 77> (Hysaj 81′), 8-Ruiz (Marques Loureiro 80′), 4-Demme, 20-Zielinski (Elmas 88′), 7-Callejón (Politanoat 66′), 14-Mertens (Milik 67′), 24-Insigne
Substitutes
5-Marques Loureiro, 9-Llorente, 11-Lozano, 12-Elmas, 13-Luperto, 21-Politano, 23-Hysaj, 27-Karnezis, 31-Ghoulam, 34-Younes, 44-Manolas, 99-Milik
Juventus
77-Buffon, 16-Ju Cuadrado (Ramsey 85′), 4-de Ligt, 19-Bonucci <Booked at 51>, 12-Lobo Silva, 30-Bentancur, 5-Pjanic (Bernardeschi 74′), 14-Matuidi, 11-Douglas Costa (Danilo 66′) 10-Dybala <Booked at 83>, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo
Substitutes
1-Szczesny, 2-De Sciglio, 8-Ramsey, 13-Danilo, 24-Rugani, 25-Rabiot, 31-Pinsoglio, 33-Bernardeschi, 35-Olivieri, 38-Muratore, 44-Vrioni, 46-Zanimacchia
