'There are no doubts' - Marelli has his say on penalty won by Osimhen in Napoli's historic win against Juventus

Former referee Luca Marelli has insisted that Maurizio Mariani was right to award a penalty to Napoli in their 2-1 win over Juventus in a Serie A clash at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Sunday night. 

This is the first time in their Serie A history that Napoli have won five consecutive home games against Juventus. 

Four days after his brace in Napoli's 6-1 hammering of Sassuolo, Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia volleyed home to open the scoring for Napoli but Federico Chiesa equalized with eight minutes of normal time left when he curled the ball into the bottom corner.

The main talking point of the came in the 85th minute when Mariani awarded a penalty to Napoli after a review on the pitchside monitor. 

The referee deemed a tackle from the young Belgian midfielder Joseph Nonge caught Osimhen on the ankle. 

The Nigeria international had the chance to give Napoli the lead from the spot but saw his effort saved by former Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny, only for Giacomo Raspadori to score from the followup in the 88th minute.

Reacting to the penalty incident, Marelli said on DAZN via Tuttojuve: "We focus on the penalty that decided the match. Osimhen controls the ball between two players: Nonge 's intervention is not immediately noticeable, but it is there and it is clear on the Napoli striker's ankle.

"It's right to go and review the action. There are no doubts about the penalty and the yellow card for the Juventus player."

Since the start of the 2022-2023 season, no player in the Serie A has missed more penalties than Osimhen, who has failed to convert three of the seven spot kicks he has taken.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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