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Alajbegovic and Boga strike as Juventus beat 10-man Napoli 2-0

James O'Connor
James O'Connor
Soccer Analyst
4:02 AM
SOCCER
Alajbegovic and Boga strike as Juventus beat 10-man Napoli 2-0
Second-half goals from Kerim Alajbegovic and Jeremie Boga earned Juventus a 2-0 home win over Napoli. Luca Marianucci was sent off after the opener as the visitors fell to another defeat.

Juventus beat Napoli 2-0 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, with Kerim Alajbegovic and Jeremie Boga scoring after the break in the Serie A meeting. Napoli finished with 10 men following Luca Marianucci's dismissal. Juventus' official match report confirmed that the victory came on the club's 129th birthday, with both goals arriving in the final 20 minutes.

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The home side had to wait for their breakthrough despite creating chances before half-time. According to Juventus, Guglielmo Vicario saved from Lorenzo Lucca early on, while Juan Cabal headed a Douglas Luiz corner against the post. Alajbegovic then sent a volley over from Randal Kolo Muani's cross before Alex Meret stopped another attempt from him near the interval.

The decisive opening came in the 70th minute. Juventus reported that substitute Edon Zhegrova beat Amir Rrahmani and supplied Alajbegovic, who moved inside before striking past Meret. That ended a goalless spell lasting more than two-thirds of the match and gave the hosts an advantage Napoli were unable to overturn.

Lega Serie A's account identified the substitutions as central to the result. Zhegrova had replaced Kolo Muani, and Boga subsequently came on for Alajbegovic. Marianucci then received his second yellow card, leaving Napoli a player short while chasing an equaliser. Boga made the result secure in the 87th minute with a shot from distance into the far corner.

Napoli's official report carried a blunt assessment from Marco Landucci, who was on the touchline for Massimiliano Allegri. He acknowledged that Juventus deserved the win and said Napoli's second-half performance had not been good enough. Landucci also said the visitors should have pressed higher after conceding, rather than retreating, and rejected injuries as an excuse for the defeat.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who was replaced at half-time, told Napoli's website that a muscular problem had forced him off. He felt the team had competed well before the interval but lost momentum afterwards. The captain called for unity and improvement during a period of inconsistent results, while the league's report recorded this as Napoli's fourth defeat of the season.

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