01/25/26 04:11:00
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01/25 16:10 CST Jonathan David finding his form at Juventus with home World Cup
in Canada approaching
Jonathan David finding his form at Juventus with home World Cup in Canada
approaching
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
ROME (AP) --- Canada standout Jonathan David is rediscovering his form with a
home World Cup approaching.
David scored his third goal in four matches and Juventus beat defending
champion Napoli 3-0 in Serie A on Sunday.
The result meant that Luciano Spalletti got the better of Antonio Conte with
both coaches meeting former squads.
Midway through the first half, David chested down a pass over the top from
Manuel Locatelli and pushed it in.
"(David) showed that he can hold his own in a duel in the box where there's no
space, so it has to be taken away from the opponent," Spalletti said. "If you
put all your strength into those moments, it's fine, otherwise you don't get
there. He scored a goal as a proper striker."
Three minutes earlier, Juventus midfielder Khephren Thuram had hit the post,
and three minutes after the goal the Turin club had another chance when
Francisco Conceicao's shot was cleared off the line by Napoli defender
Alessandro Buongiorno.
Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic added second-half goals for host Juventus.
Napoli dropped from third to fourth, level on points with Roma, which drew 1-1
with second-place AC Milan.
Juventus was left in fifth.
Spalletti coached Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023, while Conte led Juventus
to three straight Italian league titles after also playing for the club.
David scored in his Serie A debut for Juventus in August but then had a long
drought before rediscovering his form this month with a goal and an assist
against Sassuolo and another goal against Cremonese. He also had an assist in
Juve's victory over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.
David's season has also had to weather a coaching change, with Spalletti
replacing the fired Igor Tudor in October.
Canada is co-hosting this year's World Cup with the United States and Mexico.
Canada is in a group with Qatar, Switzerland and another team still to be
determined by European playoffs that include four-time champion Italy.
Spalletti was also impressed by United States international Weston McKennie
playing in a more offensive position than his usual midfield role.
"McKennie is a perfect central striker," the coach said. "He fights, he's
strong in the air and he can jump high. He plays to get results because he
makes decisions. He would be a perfect striker."
Lukaku makes season debut for Napoli
The only good news for Napoli was that Romelu Lukaku came on in the second half
for his first action since getting injured during a preseason friendly.
Lukaku wasted his only chance after a nice setup from Rasmus Hojlund.
Milan held at Roma
Milan dropped five points behind Serie A leader Inter Milan with its draw at
Roma.
Koni De Winter put Milan ahead in the second half by completing a set play
following a corner kick and an assist from Luka Modric.
Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized with a penalty for Roma following a handball by
Milan defender Davide Bartesaghi.
Milan remained unbeaten since a loss to Cremonese in its season opener in
August.
Also, seventh-place Atalanta routed Parma 4-0 with Giacomo Raspadori scoring in
his first start for the Bergamo club after transferring from Atletico Madrid.
Daniele De Rossi's Genoa came back from two goals down to beat 10-man Bologna
3-2 with an injury-time winner from Junior Messias; and Sassuolo beat Cremonese
1-0.
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