Juventus 2-0 Napoli: Kerim Alajbegović and Jérémie Boga beat 10 men

Kerim Alajbegović and Jérémie Boga scored from outside the box in the second half as Juventus beat 10-man Napoli 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. The win, on the club's 129th birthday, eased the pressure on head coach Luciano Spalletti after a difficult week.

Match facts

• Result: Juventus 2-0 Napoli (half-time 0-0)
• Competition: Serie A, Matchday 10
• Venue: Allianz Stadium, Turin (kick-off 19:45 UK)
• Scorers: Juventus - Alajbegović 70', Boga 87'
• Red cards: Marianucci (Napoli) 75', second yellow
• Next: AZ Alkmaar v Juventus, Europa League, Thursday 5 November; Porto v Napoli, Champions League, Wednesday 4 November; Fiorentina v Juventus and Napoli v Lazio, Serie A, Sunday 8 November

How the match unfolded

Napoli started brightly, and Guglielmo Vicario had to react quickly to keep out an early header from Lorenzo Lucca. Juventus grew into the game, and in the 27th minute Juan Cabal rose to meet a Douglas Luiz corner, only for his header to hit the post.

Alajbegović volleyed over from a Randal Kolo Muani cross three minutes later, and Napoli's Luca Marianucci was booked in the 38th minute. Just before half-time Alex Meret pushed away a left-footed shot from Alajbegović, and the first half ended goalless.

Both coaches changed things at the break. Federico Gatti replaced Weston McKennie for Juventus, while Napoli sent on Amir Rrahmani and Billy Gilmour for Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Kevin De Bruyne. Napoli were without coach Massimiliano Allegri on the bench, as he was suspended and watched from the stands, with assistant Marco Landucci in charge.

Spalletti sent on Edon Zhegrova for Kolo Muani in the 59th minute, and Meret saved a Bremer header five minutes later. The substitute then made the difference: in the 70th minute Zhegrova beat Rrahmani and laid the ball off to Alajbegović, who cut inside and drove a left-footed shot past Meret from outside the area. It was the 19-year-old's first Serie A goal, and he was replaced by Boga two minutes later.

Napoli's task got harder in the 75th minute, when Marianucci fouled Cabal and was shown a second yellow card. Juventus kept pushing, and in the 87th minute Boga collected Andrea Cambiaso's pass on the left, cut inside onto his right foot and curled the ball into the far corner.

Juventus finished with 18 shots to Napoli's eight and won 13 corners, although only four of their efforts were on target.

What does the result mean for Juventus and Napoli?

The win lifts Juventus to seventh on 17 points, three behind sixth-placed Frosinone, and above Napoli, who stay on 14 points after a fourth league defeat of the season. Spalletti's side had won only one of their previous four Serie A games, including a 2-0 defeat at Genoa on Wednesday.

Allegri was sent off for protesting in the 3-3 draw with Roma eight days earlier, and Napoli have now lost two of their last four league games, the other a 1-0 defeat at Venezia.

What happens next?

Napoli travel to Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday (20:00 UK) before hosting Lazio on Sunday at 11:30 UK. Juventus visit AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday (20:00 UK) and play Fiorentina away on Sunday at 19:45 UK. More results are in our Serie A section.

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