Higuain fires Juve to victory over Napoli
turin — Gonzalo Higuain scored a record 36 league goals for Napoli last season, and on Saturday he scored his first goal against it, helping Juventus to a 2-1 win over his former team.
Stephan El Shaarawy and Edin Dzeko fired a series of blanks as Roma were held to a scoreless draw at Empoli on Sunday
Higuain netted what was to prove the winner in the 70th minute, bursting into the area to fire a loose ball into the bottom right corner. He was engulfed by his teammates but didn’t celebrate.
“I told him he’d score before the match, I was good in reading the future,” fellow goal-scorer Leonardo Bonucci said. “Luckily, this year he plays for us and champions decide these kinds of matches.”
After a tense first half, Juventus broke the deadlock in the 50th when Napoli failed to defend a Miralem Pjanic corner, and Bonucci volleyed in from close range.
Its lead lasted just four minutes before Jose Callejon beat the offside trap to volley in Lorenzo Insigne’s pass to the far post. > Sunday AC Milan Atalanta Crotone Empoli Lazio > Saturday Bologna Juventus 1 3 2 0 2 0 2 Pescara Genoa Chievo AS Roma Sassuolo Fiorentina Napoli 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
Tension between the sides increased in the offseason when Higuain moved to Juventus for an Italian record fee of $99m after breaking a 66-year-old Serie A goal-scoring record.
It threatened to boil over toward the end of the first half when a row broke out over a set play as Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina appeared to push Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic but referee Gianluca Rocchi calmed the situation.
There was a touching moment before kickoff as Higuain and Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri shared a warm embrace on the touchline.
“When you are angry with a child you continue to love him,” Sarri said. — Printed and Published by Galadari Printing & Publishing (LLC), P.O. Box 11243, Dubai. Telephone: 3383535/ 3384545. Telefax: 3382238/ 3383676. email: sports@khaleejtimes.com Internet Home Page: www.khaleejtimes.com