They may be close rivals on and off the field but Napoli put that aside to be the only Serie A side to issue a congratulatory message to Juventus on social media following their Champions League comeback.
On Tuesday night, the Italian champions incredibly overcame the odds in their last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid to advance with a 3-0 win courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, having been beaten 2-0 in the first leg in the Spanish capital.
Well done to @juventusfcen – a great performance tonight! #ForzaNapoliSempre
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) March 12, 2019
“Well done to Juventus! A great performance tonight,” Napoli posted on their official Twitter account. “#ForzaNapoliSempre.”
However, the Partenopei were the only fellow Italian top flight club to issue such a message to the champions via social media, with none of the other 18 clubs joining them in their praise of the Bianconeri.
It should be noted that some coaches, such as Luciano Spalletti in his pre-match press conference ahead of Inter’s clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, did praise Juventus’ win when speaking to the media.
Although it is not entirely common practice to issue a congratulatory message to a fellow Serie A side after such a win, there is an interesting precedent from last season when Roma pulled off their own fantastic comeback against Spanish opposition by beating Barcelona 3-0 after a 4-1 first leg loss.
???????? Ammazza oh @OfficialASRoma. Complimenti per questa grande prestazione! #UCL
— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 10, 2018
On that occasion, Milan, Inter, Napoli and Juventus themselves were among the teams to congratulate the Giallorossi for their display.
