Napoli snatches the trophy away from Juve

It was an evening to forget for series champions Juventus and their once again pale superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. After a goalless 90 minutes, Napoli beat the Serie A leaders 4-2 on penalties. While coach Maurizio Sarri remains without a title with Juve this season, there was boundless celebration among his former protégés from the port city after the final whistle. They were happy with Gennaro Gattuso, who achieved his first major success as a coach. Anthem faux pas and virtual fans It wasn't the footballers who initially caused a stir at the cup final, but rather Sergio Sylvestre. The singer simply forgot a verse when reciting the Italian national anthem before the start of the game - much to the astonishment of national coach Roberto Mancini and association boss Gabriele Gravina, who were in the immediate vicinity in the stands. They were among the handful of spectators in the 70.000-person Olimpico. In order to cover the yawning emptiness in the stands, the stands were closed during the live broadcast of the TV station Rai1 was quickly filled with virtual fans who fidgeted in the fan curves with cardboard boards in the club colors. Both actions caused a lot of conversation and sometimes rampant malice online before the game even started.

The virtually filled stands were clearly visible on television. © ANSA / FERMO IMMAGINE RAIUNO

When the time came and the ball started rolling in the Olimpico, Napoli were initially the much more active team. In the 24th minute, Lorenzo Insigne's free kick hit the goal post, and shortly before half-time Diego Demme forced Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon into a brilliant save. Napoli hits the aluminum twice Juventus had more possession for long stretches, but Napoli were mostly more dangerous. This was also the case in the second, uneventful half. The big highlight of the game came in the 92nd minute, when the southern Italians had the lucky punch twice. First, Buffon parried a powerful header from Nikola Maksimovic, and Eljif Elmas hit the rebound from two meters away from the goal. Here too, the Juve goalie had his fingertips in the game.

The Coppa Italia final then went straight to penalties for the first time since 1980. Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret saved Paulo Dybala's penalty straight away, then Danilo also missed. On the other side, Insigne, Matteo Politano, Maksimovic and Arkadiusz Milik hit the mark. They secured Napoli's cup triumph and not only caused (unruly) celebrations on the field, but also gave the starting signal for the fans' celebrations at home on the streets of Naples.

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Napoli snatches the trophy away from Juve

After the Supercup, Juventus also gave up the Coppa Italia: Napoli defeated the Vecchia Signora in the final in Rome late, but fully deservedly. However, it wasn't just the footballers who were the topic of conversation in the Olympic Stadium.

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