Gonzalo Higuain has reason to celebrate vs. Napoli, but he holds off
Leonardo Bonucci said Gonzalo Higuain should celebrate if he scored against his former side, Napoli, in Serie A’s big game Saturday night, but as it happened, Bonucci was the one wheeling away in delight when his powerful volley opened the scoring in Turin. Jose Callejon equalized shortly after, but then the inevitable happened: a loose ball fell to Higuain 20 yards from goal and he drilled the ball past Pepe Reina to hand Juventus all three points. And, he did not celebrate.
Higuain began the night embracing former coach Mauricio Sarri on the touchline, and despite a quiet first half, he proved decisive when it mattered. Not that former Napoli hero Diego Maradona was overly impressed: on the occasion of his 56th birthday, he released a video thanking Napoli fans for their good wishes, and added: I don't care what Higain did. Let him follow his own path. I don't care.”
What Higuain did, though, was lift Juventus seven points clear of fifth-place Napoli and extend its lead over second-place Roma to four points, after the capital club's 0-0 draw at Empoli.
Napoli's next game is the Champions League clash against Besiktas, and the build-up will be overshadowed by a touchline row between Sarri and the subbed-off Lorenzo Insigne.
