Napoli won the Supercoppa Italiana at the expense of Juventus after an exciting final in Qatar which ended 2-2 after extra time before the Coppa Italia holders won 5-6 on penalties.
Carlos Tevez opened the scoring in the first half for Juve before Gonzalo Higuain equalised in the second, Tevez netted his second in extra time only for Higuain to wipe out the deficit again and take the game to penalties where Rafael Cabral was the hero after saving from Simone Padoin.
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Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon – 7 – Excellent
Solid all through the game but really excelled himself to deny Gonzalo Higuain with a strong right hand. Good positioning to clear the danger with his feet at times when his defenders let him down. Made three good saves in the penalty shootout but his teammates couldn’t capitalise on the chances he gave them to win the cup.
Stephan Lichtsteiner – 6 – Nuisance
Feisty, combative and had the better of Faouzi Ghoulam going forwards but lacked a final ball. Less involved as time went on and was replaced by Simone Padoin with 78 minutes gone.
Leonardo Bonucci – 5.5 -Disappointing
Weak header gave Napoli a sight of goal early on but redeemed himself with a block from Hamsik’s shot. Heart in mouth moment after almost gifting Callejon a clear run on goal with eight minutes to go in extra time but he was rescued by his goalkeeper. Didn’t look as elegant on the ball as he often does.
Giorgio Chiellini -5.5- Clumsy
Struggled to keep Higuain under wraps and didn’t seem to have the best of understandings with his defensive partners as the Old Lady’s shape wasn’t great at the back.
Patrice Evra – 6 – Competent
Mostly solid and did what he had to do at the back to help but did little else to catch the eye.
Claudio Marchisio – 5.5 – Impactless
Struggled in the middle of the pitch to break up Napoli’s play and direct Juve’s tempo. Appeared off the pace with his first touch and distribution.
Andrea Pirlo – 5.5 – Struggled
Almost made to pay after losing the ball but was bailed out by a Jose Callejon miss. Struggled to control the game in his typical manner but did some good defensive work, taken off after 65 minutes after not displaying what he can really do.
Paul Pogba – 6 – Solid
Good defensive work, showed a desire to get back and make important headers. Excellent determination and strength to bulldoze through Gokhan Inler and assist Tevez for Juve’s second.
Arturo Vidal – 5 – Anonymous
Failed to impose his will on the game as he can and was too often wasteful with his passing and long shots. Didn’t use his physical attributes to pressure the Partenopei in the middle who were able to get on the front foot in the second half.
Carlos Tevez – 8 – Outstanding
Intelligent to put pressure on Napoli defenders for the opening goal and was composed enough to finish with lots of time to think. A constant threat from outside the area, peppering Rafael with powerful efforts. Less impressive in second half like most of Juve team and hooked wide when offered the chance to win it at the end. Sparked back to life in extra time and scored a wonderful, skilful and intelligent second that looked as though it would be the decider.
Fernando Llorente – 6 – Isolated
Did little for much of the game and was sloppy on the ball but got into some clever positions that allowed his strike partner to be more effective.
Substitutes:
Roberto Pereryra- 5.5 – Standard
Did a decent enough job in midfield without really catching the eye and tested Rafael in extra time from long-range but didn’t really look like scoring.
Simone Padoin -5 – Scapegoat
Was average for the majority of his time on the pitch but slightly to blame for Higuain’s second goal after the Argentine bullied the Italian off the ball to score from close range and suffered the indignity of missing the vital penalty.
Alvaro Morata – 5 – Absent
Came on but did very little of note despite the great work from his striker partner.
Napoli
Rafael – 7 – Hero
Good saves from Tevez’s efforts from outside the area in the first half. Solid throughout and given the opportunity to be the hero in the penalty shootout and he took it with a wonderful save from Padoin’s effort.
Christian Maggio – 6 – Shackled
Got high up the pitch as he does but frequently over-hit his crosses and his passing was rather sloppy. Unexceptional at the back.
Raul Albiol – 5.5 – Frail
Terrible communication with his defensive partner to gift Juve the opening goal. Got better as the game went on but still struggled greatly with Tevez in front of him.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 5 – Subpar
An embarrassing attempt at a header after a mix-up with Albiol set up Tevez for his first. Didn’t look very impressive comfortable defending set pieces either. Did well to make a crucial goalline clearance in extra time and looked less exposed as the game evolved. Sold by Tevez’s movement for Juventus’s second goal.
Faouzi Ghoulam – 6 – Average
Struggled to deal with Lichtsteiner’s bursts forwards at first but was tidy enough once he adapted.
Walter Gargano – 6 – Fighter
Gave the ball away a lot early on and tried to make up for it by running around and looking feisty. Settled as time went on to put in a solid if not spectacular appearance.
David Lopez – 6 – Mediocre
Awful and weak attempt at heading the back ball to his defenders left Albiol and Koulibaly in the lurch and paved the way for the shambolic error that saw the Bianconeri open the scoring. Pulled himself together to put in a useful midfield performance.
Jonathan De Guzman – 7 – Elegant
Tidy and cultured. Showed that he can knock a ball around. Great dribbling down the flank before setting up Higuain with an excellent cross, taken off tired for the second half of extra time after giving a positive account of himself.
Marek Hamsik – 7 – Promising
Hit the post with a nice effort after 15 minutes and linked up well with his teammates but they struggled to make the most of his creativity. Faded somewhat in the second half and taken off after 78 minutes after putting in a good performance.
Jose Callejon – 6.5- Busy
Missed a great opportunity to equalise in the 53rd minute but continued to get himself in good positions that stretched the opposition out and helped the players near him.
Gonzalo Higuain – 8 – Marvellous
Encouraging link-up play but took a while to perfect his finishing. Unlucky to hit the post after chipping Buffon but the Argentine looked lethal after missing a few chances. Made no mistake with his header to make it 1-1 and notch up the goal he deserved. Great determination to fight through the Bianconeri’s defence to poke in and equalise when Juve seemed to have their hands on the trophy.
Substitutes
Dries Mertens – 6 – Acceptable
Didn’t have the impact that he often does and missed a penalty but did little wrong in ordinary play.
Gokhan Inler – 5.5 – Weak
Looked out of form when he came on and was responsible for letting Pogba through on his way to setting up Tevez for his second.
Jorginho – 6 – There
Came on a and ran around without influencing much. Set the tone for the shootout by missing the opener.
