Napoli 1, Juventus 3: Player ratings and Man of the Match poll

Napoli lost. It sucked. But not everything was so bad; there were a few good performances despite the result. Who reigned supreme among the partenopei? Read on!

Starters

Rafael Cabral - 7 - How is it possible that a goalkeeper who allowed three goals can get this high a rating? Well, for one thing, Napoli probably would have allowed a couple others if not for him. Rafael made one very good save, and his ever-improving command of his area helped him cut out a couple of other primo chances for Juve. Then there's what happened for the goals; no one this side of Neuer saves Pogba's strike, and even Neuer would have had a hard time against the other two thanks to the circumstances, what with a missed offside and a basically undefended counter-attack.

Christian Maggio - 5 - Got spanked by a very mediocre Patrice Evra several times, and his poor effort on Vidal's goal did not go unnoticed. Far from one of Maggio's better days this season.

Raul Albiol - 4 - His marking failure gave Caceres the space he needed to score the go-ahead, and most of Juventus' other chances on the day came through him.

Kalidou Koulibaly - 7 - The one piece of true defensive solidarity Napoli had on the night. Cut out a number of chances, including stonewalling an otherwise brilliant Carlos Tevez run.

Miguel Britos - 6 - Scored Napoli's lone goal in impressive fashion, but also gave up his 11,000th sloppy, needless foul in a dangerous area, giving Juve the free kick that set up their second goal. So. Yeah. Not great.

Walter Gargano - 6 - Solid defensively against Juve again, keeping Marchisio more or less a non-factor, but was sloppy in possession again. Too many chances died at his feet.

David Lopez - 8 - Kept Arturo Vidal in his pocket all match long, with the sole exception of that late counter, when he marked the run Tevez made, thinking - incorrectly - that Maggio had Vidal covered. Also did a lot to help build up attacks, though his finish is still... lacking.

Jose Callejon - 7 - Napoli's best direct attacker on the day. Tore apart Juventus' back line several times and wreaked bloody havoc until he wore down and was taken off.

Marek Hamsik - 7 - As has often been the case this season, better than fans are giving him credit for. Did his best to drive Napoli's attack on his own, but with Higuain and De Guzman serving as non-entities, there was only so much he could do. Still, created quite a lot of danger and on a more... functional... day for Napoli's attack, likely would have ended up with a couple of assists.

Jonathan De Guzman - 5 - Did not do well. Marked out wayyyy too easily by Caceres when he was on the left, and when he moved central after Hamsik came off, he lost possession too many times to be helpful as a creator.

Gonzalo Higuain - 4 - Pipita got stuck in Bonucci's pocket early in the match  and never got out of it. That's all that really needs to be said.

Substitutes

Dries Mertens - 6 - Gave Napoli an injection of pace and quality on the left that had been lacking thanks to De Guzman's off day. Served up some good corners, and used his direct runs to create danger in open play. Nothing managed to come of them, though.

Manolo Gabbiadini - 5 - As debuts go, this one was a little shaky. Gabbiadini had a few good moments not long after coming on, then kind of... disappeared. He'll be better, though. Debuts are just rarely easy, especially in such a big match.

Duvan Zapata - 0 - That dive was an embarrassment. Zapata should be benched for the rest of the month for that.

Who was your man of the match for Napoli against Juventus? Vote in the poll below and discuss the performances in the comments!