Juventus vs Napoli: Giovanni Martusciello hails ‘never give up’ attitude after securing last gasp win against title rivals
A Kalidou Koulibaly own-goal in stoppage time gifted the champions a 4-3 win despite blowing a 3-0 lead
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Your support makes all the difference.Juventus assistant coach Giovanni Martusciello lauded his team's resilience after Kalidou Koulibaly it's stoppage time own-goal gifted them victory in a seven-goal thriller against Napoli.
The champions squandered a 3-0 lead in the second half before the Senegalese centre-back put through his own net to spare the Old Lady's blushes.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck a third for the hosts to seemingly end the contest after first-half goals from Danilo, on his debut, and Gonzalo Higuain, scoring once more against his former club.
But Carlo Ancelotti's side hit back, firstly through new signing Kostas Manolas and then Hirving Lozano.
The visitors appeared set to grab an unlikely point when Giovanni Di Lorenzo levelled with nine minutes to go, only for the hosts to rally late and maintain their perfect start thanks to Koulibaly turned, to the delight of Martusciello.
"We had an important physical decline, and against a strong team that dribble like Napoli, that was the thing that put us in difficulty," Martusciello told a post-match press conference.
"At 3-0 we had a 'full belly' and we allowed Napoli to come back. But what really strikes me about this group is the fact that they never give up, and that in moments of difficulty, it brings out something more."
Juve also handed a debut to Matthijs De Ligt, in place of injured skipper Giorgio Chiellini, and Martusciello was satisfied with the Dutch defender's first appearance following his £67.5million move from Ajax.
"De Ligt? He comes from a team that defended differently, in a league that is not the Italian one," Martusciello added.
"He also played well for an hour, then his condition was lacking a bit. But he is a player of the highest level."
Martusciello has been carrying out media duties in the absence of Maurizio Sarri, who watched Juve beat his former club from the stands following his recovery from pneumonia.
Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti could not hide his disappointment at the manner of his side's defeat and their performance.
"We conceded two goals with our defence in position. We need to mark tighter in the box," the former Chelsea manager said.
"This was a missed opportunity tonight. We started playing football after an hour. I would have been disappointed even if we had drawn.
"The comeback is the only positive. I'm disappointed with the overall performance."
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