Match date: 13 February 2016

A tight clash between the two top sides in Serie A. A win for Napoli would have seen them secure a five point advantage over Juventus, while a win for the home side would give them a one point advantage over Napoli.

Allegri opted to set his side out in a 4-4-2 with Dybala and Morata as the front two and the midfield four flat. Pogba was on the left, with Khedira and Marchisio through the middle, and Cuadrado on the right.

Sarri fielded a 4-3-3 with his strongest XI with Higuain in search of his 25th goal in 25 Serie A appearances.

Juventus Control Space, Slow Napoli’s Play

Allegri’s side, in most Serie A games, are comfortable controlling the ball and through their use of the ball, dominating games. This game was different, however, as Juventus allowed Napoli to have the majority of the ball while they controlled the space in which the away side was allowed to play. Napoli are arguably at their best when they are able to counter attack through Insigne, Callejon, and Higuain and by limiting the space in behind, Juventus were able to nullify Napoli’s counter attacking threat. Juventus defended in a low-block 4-4-2 and remained centrally compact throughout the match. This is not to say that Juventus did not have good spells of possession, they certainly did, but they were setup to deny Napoli from playing quick passes in the final third, while looking to play through Morata, Pogba, Dybala, and Cuadrado going forward. Below is a good example of Juventus’ shape throughout the match.

You’ll notice above that there are few options for Koulibaly (on the ball). Hamsik, Jorginho, and Allan would all be forced back to the same line as the Napoli centre backs rather getting the ball further up the field. In the above picture, you can see that there is limited space behind Dybala and Morata and in front of Marchisio and Khedira and because of this the Napoli centre midfielders rarely tried to pick up the ball in that area. When they moved deep to get the ball, however, it slowed down Napoli’s ball circulation significantly and made it even more comfortable for Juventus to defend as there was no central threat for Napoli and the passes between the centre midfielders and the centrebacks were short and slow. The most played pass for Napoli was from Raul Albiol to Hamsik in the left half space, but still in front of the Juventus midfield.

The times that Napoli were able to put together attacking movements were when one of the full backs, Hysaj or Ghoulam, got wide and high while the Juventus midfield was caught slowly shifting. On the left, when Ghoulam got forward and Hamsik picked up the ball as explained above, it allowed Insigne to find space a bit more and get on the ball. Once Napoli got behind the Juventus midfield around the outside, they were too slow to exploit the unbalanced Juventus lines and most of the time Callejon, Insigne, Hysaj, and Ghoulam would try to swing a cross in for Higuain. Most of the crosses were poor and the best chance was cut out by Bonucci.

Notice above the passes from Hamsik to Insigne; Insigne was arguably the biggest threat for Napoli in the final third. Allegri made an adjustment in the second half to have the midfield shift more to that side of the pitch to nullify Hamsik and Insigne’s influence on the match. Pogba’s positioning was noticeably narrower as Marchisio and Khedira were positioned more to the right. Below you can see that slightly unbalanced midfield line of Juventus. Marchisio and Khedira are cutting off passing lanes forward in that half space, also notice Insigne’s position.

In the second half, Hamsik and Insigne’s influence dropped off significantly. Insigne was forced to drop deeper to get on the ball compared to the first half and the space around him was crowded by Lichtsteiner, Cuadrado, and Marchisio.

Juventus’ Front Three and Napoli’s High Line

Napoli played a very high line for much of the match, with the back four staying very compact with the midfield. When they were defending, Napoli were very much a 4-5-1 and limited the space between the lines, but it also isolated Higuain significantly. This allowed Napoli to squeeze the pitch, press Marchisio and Khedira well, and try to limit Juventus’ playing out of the back. Marchisio and Khedira both had good games from a defensive standpoint, but Napoli’s midfielders were able to put good pressure on them and limit their influence going forward. Below you can see the Napoli back line very high, with Cuadrado and Morata both recovering from an offside position. You can slo see the crowded midfield area.

With Marchisio and Khedira struggling to have a positive influence of Juventus’ attack, and because they were outnumbered 2 v 3 in midfield, Dybala consistently dropped into the midfield. The young Argentine was given a relatively free role and he tried throughout his time on the pitch to connect play going forward. He found his space relatively limited because of Napoli’s high line and their squeezing of the midfield, but he was able to pick up the ball and keep it moving. He missed Juventus’ best chance of the match after a late run into the box saw him get on the end of a pass from Pogba that he hit over the bar. He played very much like a number 10, like Tevez did last year, and with his movement, along with Morata’s, it often left the Napoli centrebacks without a man to mark.

Morata often found himself drifting into a wide left area, and while he got on the ball at times, there was little offered to him. Often times Dybala would find himself deep and Morata would drift out wide, leaving Juventus without a central target. Much of the time, Juventus’ outlet was the pace of Cuadrado. The Colombian had a relatively good game in this respect and showed some good moments on the ball, but often he lacked a final ball or decision and looked better when Juventus were quick to counter and he came inside with the ball.

Pogba’s Second Half, Evra, Zaza

Juventus’ number 10 had a relatively quiet first half, largely in part due to Napoli having a bit more of the ball and Pogba playing in a wide left role in Juventus’ 4-4-2. However, in the second half, Pogba certainly grew into the game, in part due to Allegri’s midfield change. As previously mentioned, the Italian manager made changes to Juventus’ midfield structure, shifting it to the right to nullify the influence of Hamsik and Insigne. This meant that Pogba was positioned more centrally and allowed him to get on the ball and have a greater influence on Juventus going forward. Much of the time, he was in the left half space, which made it hard for Napoli to deal with his movement from central to wide areas. Dybala had arguably the best chance of the game when Pogba drifted from a central area into the half space and was found with a quick diagonal from Marchisio. Below you can see Pogba in that half space area of the pitch.

Allegri’s positional change for Pogba allowed Evra to get further forward and involved in the attacking play of Juventus. It helped push Callejon back, but also allowed Juventus to have that extra body in midfield and still have width when attacking. The other difference in the second half was that Zaza played both more central than Morata and higher than Dybala, giving Juventus a good outlet. Regardless of how wondrous Zaza’s strike was it is important to note that he was in a position that Juventus probably would not have had a player earlier in the match and the ball into him came from Evra.

Conclusion

An excellent display of football and of Allegri’s growth. He nullified Napoli’s biggest threats and allowed those changes to become attacking positives for Juventus. With their win, Juventus go a point above Napoli and continue their excellent run of form.

Sarri looked out of ideas from the start of the match because of Juventus’ setup. Without service, Higuain was limited in his contribution, while Insigne and Hamsik were forced to get on the ball deeper than they would have liked.

Overall, Juventus had a better plan to win the game and Zaza’s goal allowed them to get the three points they deserved.