Luciano Spalletti makes a successful debut at Juventus; Napoli held 0-0
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ROME (AP) — It took all of 85 seconds for Juventus to score its first goal under Luciano Spalletti.
Filip Kostic celebrated his 33rd birthday by finishing off a swift team effort that included a backheel pass from Lois Openda in the second minute of a 2-1 win at Cremonese in Serie A on Saturday.
Andrea Cambiaso added another for Juventus midway through the second half before former Leicester striker Jamie Vardy pulled one back for Cremonese.
Spalletti was hired on Thursday to replace Igor Tudor, who was fired three days earlier after an eight-match winless streak.
The victory boosted Juventus up to fifth place and level with the two Milan clubs, which both play on Sunday.
Spalletti said during his presentation on Friday that he believes he can turn Juventus into a title contender and the Bianconeri are now just four points behind Italian league leader Napoli.
“I’ve already got my back up against the wall,” Spalletti said with a laugh when reminded of what he said a day earlier. “I’m already a prisoner.”
Spalletti, the former Napoli and Italy coach, surprisingly used Teun Koopmeiners as a defender in a 3-5-2 formation. The Netherlands international is usually a midfielder.
“It was meant to serve as a message: We’re not going out to defend. We want to play,” Spalletti said.
Cambiaso’s goal came when a cross from Fancisco Conceicao toward Dusan Vlahovic deflected into his path.
The 38-year-old Vardy then finished off a counterattack by muscling past defender Federico Gatti and beating goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio with an angled shot. It was Vardy’s second goal in three matches after also scoring against Atalanta.
Penalty saving speciali
st
Napoli goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved another penalty but the defending champion was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Como.
Midway through the first half, Milinkovic-Savic took down Alvaro Morata as the Como striker came streaking in on goal.
Then Milinkovic-Savic lunged to his left to stop Morata’s spot kick for his sixth save from the last 10 penalties he has faced.
Having lost Kevin De Bruyne to a long-term injury, Napoli had Rasmus Hojlund back after a physical issue but still struggled to create chances.
Napoli moved one point clear of Roma, which visits AC Milan on Sunday.
Cesc Fabregas’ Como dropped to sixth.
Napoli remained unbeaten at home for nearly a year — since getting beat by Lazio last December.
Also, Udinese beat Atalanta 1-0 to hand the Bergamo squad its first loss of the season. Nicolò Zaniolo scored before the break for his third goal in four matches as Udinese leapfrogged Atalanta and moved up to eighth place.
Having drawn its previous five matches, Atalanta’s winless streak reached six games.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer