Juventus - Napoli: result, as it happened
A second yellow card awarded to Napoli's Mario Rui awarded just before the hour mark was instrumental in seeing Juve see off a solid Napoli side.
Who can stop the Juventus juggernaut? The Serie A title holders faced today their sternest test this season against Napoli and were even trailing after ten minutes when Dries Mertens put the visitors ahead.
Allegri's side rallied and went level when Cristiano assisted for Mario Mandzukic to nod past Ospina. It was the Croatian striker who was on target in the 48th minute after Ospina tipped a Cristiano shot onto the post and the ball fell kindly for the Juve striker to slot home.
Napoli never threw in the towel but their task was made that bit harder after Rui foulded Dybala to earn his second yellow of the evening. Napoli probed but Bonucci's 76th minute strike saw the fight go out of Ancelotti's side.
Juve march on and will look to make it eight from eight with an away trip to Udine next weekend.
Juventus 3-1 Napoli: as it happened
Juventus vs Napoli live online: match preview
Juventus will aim to continue their unbeaten start to the season, which has reaped six wins in six games so far, in their biggest test to date when Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli visit the Allianz Stadium.
Napoli sit in second behind Massimiliano Allegri’s side with a three-point gap separating the sides as the Azzurri seek to overturn the reigning champions’ advantage in search of a first Scudetto since 1990.
Juventus
Allegri’s side have been in imposing form in Serie A, winning their opening six and conceding just four times. However, Juve have only played one side in the current top four and were given the run-around by both Sassuolo and Frosinone in narrow victories.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been enjoying the comforts of home at the Allianz, having a hand in four goals with two strikes and two assists at home. The Portuguese is a player designed for the grandest stages and Allegri will look to his support - Mario Mandzukic and Federico Bernadeschi – to find the number seven as often as possible from the flanks.
Napoli
History does not favour the visitors in Turin, Napoli having won just eight times against their fierce rivals with Juve taking the spoils on 44 occasions. However, Napoli did win this fixture last season towards the end of the campaign as they took Juve all the way to the line in the Scudetto race and Ancelotti has called on his side to rise to the challenge.
"We can't get more than three points, but we are aware that a win would give us a lot of self-confidence. We want to be competitive until the end of the season and these games are important to understanding what level we are at right now,” the veteran tactician said ahead of the game. "We want to limit them and play our football. I don't care about predictions and I wouldn't settle for a draw.”
Ancelotti is likely to stick with the formula that reaped 3-1 and 3-0 victories over Torino and Parma in Napoli’s last two games, deploying the slippery Lorenzo Inigne behind Arkadiusz Milik and playing a four-man midfield, summer signing Fabián Ruíz pulling the strings with José Callejón and Piotr Zielinski providing the width while Allan, Serie A’s most successful midfielder in terms of balls won, holding the keys to the fort.