Juventus 1-0 Napoli : Five talking points

Juventus hosted Napoli for what was arguably the most important match in the Serie A season. The Old Lady has come a long way from the reverse fixture, which Napoli won 2-1.Since then, a record-breaking 14 consecutive Serie A wins meant that the 4-time champions have risen straight back into contention for the league title, after having been bottom of the table at one point after to a shambolic start to the season.Napoli are on a historical run of form of their own, and eight consecutive Serie A wins mean that for the first time since Maradona’s era, Napoli can realistically dream of the title.An 88th minute header for Simone Zaza helped Juventus nab a vital 1-0 win, their 15th on the trot, and surely now the dynamics of the title race have tilted in their favour. Let’s analyze the 5 major talking points that emerged from the game.

#1 Zaza the unlikely hero in the battle between Higuain and Dybala

Zaza scored the late winner for Juventus

Gonzalo Higuain has been in an amazing run of form with 24 league goals in as many games. Having led the Partenopei to the top of Serie A, it has been no surprise that comparisons with the legendary Diego Maradona have been pouring in.

Maradona, like his Argentinean successor, led Napoli to their last league title in 1989-90. The weight of expectation was now firmly on Higuain’s shoulders, with Maradona recently proclaiming him to be his heir at Napoli.

Paulo Dybala was last season’s rising star, having netted 13 goals for Palermo. The Argentinean wunderkind is also drawing comparisons to Messi, and is seen as his heir in the national team. The youngster has understandably played down such conjectures.

But he deserves a lot of praise for seamlessly slotting into a big club and ensuring that another legendary Argentinean, Carlos Tevez’s absence has not been felt.

The media were hyping it as a showdown between Higuain and Dybala (who is surprisingly a massive 13 goals off the former), but it was former Sassuolo man Zaza who popped up at the right time to deliver a priceless goal for Juve.

Being fourth-choice behind Dybala, Morata and Mandzukic does not make one hopeful of playing time, and despite almost leaving the club on more than occasion, Zaza has made his presence felt at Juventus with 7 goals in all competitions this season.