At 3:45 Beijing time on January 7, the 20th round of the 2021-22 Serie A season, Juventus drew 1-1 at home to Napoli. Mertens scored first, Kyjesa, who returned from injury, equalised for Juve and Dybala returned as a substitute.
Competition focus
This is the first match of the two teams in 2022, and after a toss-and-turn preparation process, the game went smoothly. After the draw, Napoli scored 40 points and Juve finished fifth with 35 points.
Napoli's starting lineup reached 29 years and 355 days, making it the oldest starting line-up ever sent by Napoli since serie A used a three-point system.
Since November 2021, Mertens has scored six goals in Serie A, at least twice as many as other Napoli players.
Following Lazio in August 2013, Napoli became the second Serie A team to shoot more than 10 times in the first half against Juve at the Allianz Arena.
The key moment
In the 23rd minute, Mertens scored with a low shot to make it 1-0!
In the 53rd minute, Chieza's powerful shot into the net from the edge of the penalty area made it 1-1!
Moments of excitement
In the 4th minute, McKenney's header from the penalty area was deflected over the top and missed a chance to break the goal.
In the 15th minute, Mertens fired a powerful right-footed shot high in front of the penalty area.
In the 16th minute, Chiesa's left-footed shot from the edge of the box was deflected just wide.
In the 23rd minute, Insigne picked out a pass from the edge of the box, Politano turned his back and Mertens scored with a low shot to make it 1-0!
In the 36th minute, Chilinsky's powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box was lifted over the crossbar by Szczesny.
In the 39th minute, Bernadezki's left-footed shot from the edge of the box was deflected wide.
In the 42nd minute, Cuadrado's left-footed shot from the midfield was blocked by a wall, and McKenny's left-footed shot was blocked by a defender.
In the 45th minute, Sandro was cautioned for a yellow card for tripping Politano and Mertens took a free-kick that was slightly offside.
In the 48th minute, Morata turned around inside the penalty area and fired wide.
In the 53rd minute, the defender's header was not far away, Chieza shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball bounced off Lobotka and into the net, 1-1!
In the 61st minute, the defender's header was not far from clear, Chieza rushed into the box and his right-footed shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, and McKenny's shot was deflected. Ospina then collapsed in the penalty area.
In the 82nd minute, De Ligt made a steal inside the penalty area, but Napoli believed that De Ligt had brought down Di Lorenzo.
In the 95th minute, Cuadrado crossed diagonally and Keane's header from the penalty area went high over the top.
Statistics
Player ratings
Chiesa scored a game-high 7.7 points and Mertens scored 7.6.
Appearances line-up
Juventus (442): 1 Szczesny, 4 De Ligt, 11 Cuadrado, 12 Sandro (75 mins 2 De Sillio), 24 Rougani, 14 McKenni, 25 Rabio (66 mins 30 Bentankur), 27 Locatelli, 9 Morata (75 mins 18 Moisei Keane), 20 Bernardeschi (66 mins 10 Di Barra), 22 Chiesa (81 mins 44 Kulusevsky)
Napoli (4231): 25 Ospina, 4 Dem, 5 Juan Jesus, 13 Amir Rahmani, 22 Di Lorenzo, 31 Ghulam, 20 Zelinski, 68 Lobotka, 14 Mertens (88 minutes 37 Petania), 21 Politano (7 7 Elmas in 76 minutes), 24 Insigne