On October 18th, in the seventh round of Serie A, Napoli faced Juventus at home.

  Ih minute, Pelle, positio the edge of the penalty area, held off Juventus defender Knezevic with his back to goal. He passed the ball basik before turning sharply and sprinting forward.

  Hamsik read the py perfectly, threading a quick pass behind Juventus' defensive line.

  Knezevid Salihamidzic, both rushing to block Pelle's run, simultaneously slid in to intercept the ball. However, they disastrously collided with one another, leaving the ball in an open area.

  Callejon pounced on the opportunity, effortlessly sliding the ball past Juventus' substitute goalkeeper, Manninger.

  1-0!

  The San Paolo Stadium erupted with cheers as the Napoli fans celebrated wildly.

  Oher hand, Juventus' pyers were visibly frustrated, and their head coach, Cudio Ranieri, looked livid on the sidelines, shouting in disappoi at his pyers.

  But this was only the beginning.

  With the deadlock broken, Napoli pushed forward with relentless attag waves.

  Maggio sent in a low cross from the right, which Hamsik met with a powerful strike, but he misjudged the shot, sending it high over the bar.

  Soon after, Valencia burst down the right fnk, cutting through Juventus' defense and delivering a low ball across the face of the goal. Pelle luo ect but missed by mere ihe ball skimming past the post.

  Shortly afterward, Pelle rose to meet a cross from the left with a header from cle, but his effort cked precision a straight into Manninger's hands.

  Napoli's tinuous assaults on Juventus created chaos in the visitors' defense.

  Ih minute, Valencia delivered another cross from the right. Hamsik struck a volley as the ball bounced up, but it smashed against the crossbar and flew out of py.

  However, Napoli wouldn't be denied for long.

  Just three mier, Maggio delivered another accurate cross from the right. Pelle's header was brilliantly parried by Manninger, but the ball rebouo Hamsik. The Slovak midfielder seized the opportunity, volleying the ball into the after several frantic attempts.

  2-0!

  Hamsik sprinted across the pitch, soaking in the deafening cheers of the Napoli faithful.

  Despite the two-week iional break, Napoli returo a looking as unstoppable as ever.

  ---

  Gao Shen stood calmly by the home team's teical area, his posture rexed. Direg the game felt effortless for him.

  His fidence wasn't unfounded, his team had not only taken trol of the game but had also secured a fortable lead.

  In trast, Ranieri, pag in front of Juventus' teical area, looked as if he was on the verge of tearing his hair out.

  But what could he do?

  You make your choices, and then you live with the sequences, even if it means suffering.

  Ranieri aying the price for a decision he made ba 2007.

  Yes, this was about fitness coach Giampiero na—the same na whose qualifications were stantly questioned.

  By now, almost everyone apart from Ranieri doubted na's petence. Juventus' current injury crisis roof enough.

  Apart from Mohamed Sissoko, who was suspended due to accumuted yellow cards, Juventus' injury list was staggering: Buffon, Trezeguet, Iaquinta, Zai, Camoranesi, Thiago, Legrottaglie, Zebina, and Mellberg.

  Nearly half of Juventus' starting lineup was sidelined.

  The pyers who could take the field weren't in peak ditioher.

  Last season's top scorer, Del Piero, who ed 21 goals in Serie A, had only managed one goal in seven rounds this season. Starting in six games and ing off the ben one, his performances had been ckluster.

  "After tonight, Ranieri will surely hear the arm bells of his impending dismissal," Zidane remarked as Gao Shen came back to take a sip of water.

  Coag, Gao Shen thought to himself, was indeed a high-stakes profession.

  Gng at Ranieri, who looked utterly defeated on the sidelines, Gao She a tinge of sympathy.

  While Ranieri certainly bore responsibility for Juventus' struggles, the situation wasirely his fault.

  The injury crisis, for instance, raised serious questions about the team's trainihods. Whether na was a theorist who cked practical petence or just out of his depth, the results spoke for themselves.

  But why had Ranieri insisted on keeping him st year? And why allow him to work without proper lising?

  Even if Ranieri had a fully fit squad, could he have overe this Napoli side?

  Gao Shen doubted it. His fidence wasn't arroga rooted in what he was witnessing och.

  Juventus' ter-back pairing for this match was Chiellini and Knezeviezevic, brought in on loan from Livorno, had been a backup option from the start. With Legrottaglie injured, Ranieri was left with no choice but to start him alongside Chiellini.

  Juventus' defensive issues were gring. Their so-called "Eight King Kongs" defensive overhaul, whicluded Chiellini, Legrottaglie, Grygera, Molinaro, Zebina, Mellberg, De Ceglie, and Knezevic, was riddled with holes. Injuries had reduced their tral defeo a shadow of its potential.

  Offensively, Juventus weren't much better. They cked a creative pymaker who could orchestrate attacks. her Van der Vaart nor Diego, two traargets, had materialized.

  Without the ability to build pys or terattack effectively, Juventus' offense was reduced to simple long balls to their strikers, a strategy easily ralized by Napoli's defense.

  Benatia dominated Amauri, while avaro Jr. kept Del Piero quiet. With no meaningful link-up py and the ball rarely reag dangerous areas, Juventus posed little threat.

  Ranieri, helpless, could only hope his side could weather the storm.

  ---

  The first half ended 2-0 in Napoli's favor.

  At the start of the sed half, Juventus attempted to mount a eback, fog on utilizing their ter-forward Amauri to gain an advantage in attack.

  But Benatia tinued his stelr performance, effectively ralizing Amauri. The Moro defender, who joined Napoli in the summer, had been a revetion in Serie A, and Amauri couldn't find a ast him.

  Juventus' only signifit ce came in the 52nd minute when Marchisio delivered a long ball to Amauri, who chested it down to Del Piero. The veteran forward struck a left-footed shot from the edge of the box, but it narrowly missed the target.

  Napoli responded almost immediately. Maggio unleashed a powerful strike that rattled the crossbar, f Juventus to retreat once again.

  From there, the match returo Napoli's familiar rhythm, with Gao Shen watg fidently from the sidelines.

  Ih minute, Napoli delivered the final blow.

  Mertens sprinted down the right, cutting into the penalty area and drawing Manninger off his line. Calmly, Mertens id the ball back to Pelle, who, with a siouch, slotted it past the scrambling goalkeeper.

  3-0!

  Napoli tio attack but failed to add to their tally.

  The matded with a decisive victory for Napoli. Goals from Callejon, Hamsik, and Pelle secured a 3-0 win, handing Juventus a crushi. The visitors failed tister a single shot on target and managed only four attempts in total.

  It was a plete rout.

  ---

  Later that evening, Inter Min, led by Mourinho, delivered their own statement. With Ibrahimovic sg twice, Inter demolished Roma 4-0 away tain the Serie A lead.