Napoli clinch Supercoppa title after dramatic win on penalties

Sport360 staff 07:48 23/12/2014
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  • Cup of joy: Napoli’s Marek Hamsik lifts the Italian Super Cup trophy in Qatar.

    Napoli beat Juventus 6-5 on penalties to win the Italian Super Cup last night and deny Massimiliano Allegri a first trophy in charge of the Bianconeri.

    Rafael saved Simone Padoin’s final penalty after Kalidou Koulibaly had converted to win the match despite Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saving three spot kicks in Doha.

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    The match had ended 2-2 after extra time with Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain twice cancelling out strikes from Argentine compatriot Carlos Tevez.

    It was thrilling action at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, which had a sellout crowd of 14,000.

    The clash got off to a rollicking start with Raul Albiol and Kalidou Koulibaly colliding while trying to clear David Lopez’s poor backheader and allowing Tevez to beat Rafael with just five minutes on the clock.

    Marek Hamsik went close to equalising when his effort took a deflection off Giorgio Chiellini to leave Buffon stranded but the ball came off the right post. Tevez nearly doubled his tally but he was denied by good saves from Rafael.

    By that time, Napoli had recovered and Higuain could have helped draw level but his effort was thwarted by a diving save from Buffon. Jose Callejon should have equalised shortly after the restart following a fantastic pass from Hamsik but he fired inches wide of the left post.

    Napoli hit the post for the second time in the match when Higuain’s chipped effort went over Buffon but came off the far right post.

    The equaliser finally came in the 68th minute when Jonathan de Guzman powered down the left flank and sent in a cross as Higuain found the back of the net with a sharp header.

    However, Juventus went ahead moments into the second half of extra time as Paul Pogba set up Tevez, who created some space on the edge of the area before drilling one low into the bottom left corner.

    Buffon tried his best but could not stop Higuain from leveling two minutes from time.

    In the shootout, the Italian goalkeeper saved the shots of Jorginho, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon but Tevez’s effort bounced off the post while Roberto Pereyra were target.

    For Rafa Benitez’s Napoli, Rafael denied Giorgio Chiellini and Padoin to seal the match.

    The Super Cup had been moved to December to accommodate Napoli’s Champions League playoff commitments last August.

    The triumph was sweet revenge for Napoli, who lost to Juventus in the same competition two years ago.

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