Another bicycle kick flusters Juve
FIRST it was Cristiano Ronaldo. Then came Simeon “Simy” Tochukwu Nwankwo.
Two weeks after Ronaldo’s spectacular bicycle kick helped Real Madrid oust Juventus from the UEFA Champions League, a similar overhead effort has left the Bianconeri’s march toward a record-extending seventh Serie A title suddenly seem precarious.
The audacious equalizer from the Nigerian forward helped relegation-threatened Crotone to a 1-1 draw with Juventus on Wednesday and reduced the Turin squad’s advantage over Napoli to 4 points entering Sunday’s top-of-the-table matchup.
A Napoli win at Allianz Stadium would cut the gap to only 1 point with 4 games to go in the only real remaining title race in Europe’s five major leagues.
Manchester City has already clinched the English Premier League title, Bayern Munich has wrapped up its sixth straight Bundesliga championship and Paris Saint-Germain has won the French league. Meanwhile, Barcelona is poised to take the Spanish trophy this weekend.
“We were chickens to allow that goal,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said of Simy’s score. “It wasn’t our night.
“But now we’ve got to focus on Napoli. I wouldn’t sign for a draw. We’ve got to play to obtain the maximum. By winning we’ll take a big step forward. Anyhow the season won’t end on Sunday.”
At one point on Wednesday, when Napoli trailed Udinese (before eventually winning 4-2) and Juventus led in Crotone, it seemed that it could clinch on Sunday by beating Napoli.
Now, Napoli is again dreaming of its first title since Diego Maradona led the southern club to its only two Serie A championships in 1987 and 1990.
“We reached our club goal of qualifying for the UCL a week ago and now we’re at least assured of finishing second so now we can have some fun,” Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said.
On paper, Juventus has the tougher schedule over the last 4 rounds, with visits to Inter Milan and Roma. Napoli’s toughest postJuve test could come at Fiorentina a week later or at home in the last game against a Crotone side fighting relegation.
Juventus won 1-0 at Napoli in December courtesy of an early goal from former Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain. That defeat was a devastating blow for Sarri’s free-flowing tactics — which have drawn admiration from City coach Pep Guardiola.
Don’t expect any change in tactics this time around.
“We know that it’s going to be a difficult match but we’re not going to change our philosophy,” Sarri said. “We always try to impose our play and we’ll attempt to do so even in such a tough stadium to play in.”