Zuniga is off and Napoli have no subs left.

Zebina came on for Caceres.

Ref blows on 90, Juve win 3-0.

Manninger 6
Caceres 6 (Zebina -)
Legrottaglie 6
Chiellini 8
Grosso 5 (Grygera 5)
Salihamidzic 6
Felipe Melo 7
Diego 7
De Ceglie 7
Del Piero 7 (Immobile -)
Amauri 6

Much better performance, the scoreline flattered us in the end as Napoli went for the equaliser. Del Piero and Diego had some golden cameos, we need them to play together to unlock teams, they are just on a different level to the rest (aside from Camoranesi).

There are still big problems in the fullback positions, Grosso was terrible and then Grygera came on at left back and wasn't much better, Napoli just attacked our left all second half and it gave Caceres more space to get forward and he did better second half. Melo had his best game for a long time, he looked fresh and interested.

They aren't going to sack Ciro after that I assume, but our board are strange. I would much rather have the 3 league points, if we go and lose in Verona then it has to be the end, we need some consistency.

Coppa: Diego and Alex revive Juve

Juventus are back in business after thrashing Napoli 3-0 in the Coppa Italia with Diego and an Alessandro Del Piero brace. They will face Inter in the quarter-final on January 28.

Andrea Dossena received his Napoli debut after the move from Liverpool last week, while Ciro Ferrara knew his job was on the line. Bianconeri fans left the Curva Scirea empty in protest with only a banner: 'Shame on you. Only we are worthy of these colours.'

Just seven minutes in Gennaro Iezzo made a hash of coming out for a corner and only an acrobatic Cigarini goalline clearance prevented Amauri's header from breaking the deadlock. Del Piero did put the ball in the net, but was clearly offside by that stage.

Del Piero has barely featured this season, but curled a free kick inches wide of the near post.

Napoli were furious when Juve took the lead. Jesus Datolo went down injured after a collision with Felipe Melo, but the referee allowed play to go on and eventually Diego fired in from the edge of the box following Juan Zuniga's error.

Ferrara was on the sidelines with his arm raised, urging his players to put the ball out of play, but they did not notice him. It should also be noted that Datolo got back up without treatment.

The tension got to Contini, who was caught on camera apparently stamping on the back of Del Piero's head when he was on the ground. Contini had just been booked for dissent, so even a yellow would've seen him sent off, and could well be punished with the use of video evidence.

Del Piero really should've scored a second on 31 minutes, but practically passed the ball to Iezzo from nine yards after a defensive error left him clear on goal.

Napoli started the second half stronger, but Hoffer just failed to get on the end of a German Denis cross at the back post.

Cigarini wanted a penalty when his cross hit Felipe Melo's arm and on the counter Paolo De Ceglie fired straight at Iezzo when he perhaps should've rolled across for Del Piero.

Diego had never scored in Turin before, but almost made it 2-0 when he thumped the upright from the edge of the box despite slipping on the turf as he pulled the trigger.

Cristian Maggio failed to make the most of a Nicola Legrottaglie howler on the edge of his box, as the winger tried to go for goal himself rather than pass it to his teammates.

On 71 minutes a Marek Hamsik missile cracked off the crossbar with Alex Manninger simply unable to get there. It was a splendid strike from the Slovak that swerved wickedly in the air.

Hugo Campagnaro needed a crucial sliding tackle to block off Felipe Melo mid-shot after Diego's through ball had sent him clear. Walter Mazzarri went for it with striker Fabio Quagliarella on for Campagnaro.

However, less than 30 seconds later Juve had doubled their lead with Del Piero's first goal of the season. Maggio was still adjusting to the new tactics and was caught out of position, allowing the Juventus captain to sweep in at the back post from De Ceglie's pass.

Napoli fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 here in Serie A earlier this season. Quagliarella flashed a shot past the upright, but they were inevitably caught on the counter.

Contini blatantly brought down Diego after a splendid through ball from Del Piero and was sent off. Del Piero stepped up and buried the penalty under the bar for his second. 'Alex' was granted a standing ovation with a late substitution, but it marks the first defeat in all competition for Mazzarri on the Napoli bench.

Juventus 3-0 Napoli

Scorers: Diego 23 (J), Del Piero 77, pen 81 (J)

Sent off: Contini 80 (N)

Juventus: Manninger; Caceres (Zebina 82), Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Grosso (Grygera 46); Salihamidzic, Felipe Melo, De Ceglie; Diego; Del Piero (Immobile 85), Amauri

Napoli: Iezzo; Campagnaro (Quagliarella 76), Rinaudo, Contini; Zuniga, Gargano, Cigarini, Dossena (Hamsik 59), Datolo; Denis, Hoffer (Maggio 63)

Ref: Romeo

I wonder what De Laurentiis has to say after this game.

Ferrara thanks the players

Ciro Ferrara admits “clearly this was a very, very important game” and thanks the players for their Coppa triumph.

The Coach could well have been sacked if he lost this match following recent setbacks in Serie A and the Champions League, but beat Napoli 3-0 to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

“Clearly this was a very, very important game for everyone, not just me. I think the lads faced it in the best possible way with perfect focus, attention and humility,” he told RAI.

“Napoli had a great chance with Marek Hamsik hitting the bar, but I think overall that Juventus proved they deserved to win this match.”

Earlier this evening there were reports that the Juventus board meeting backed Ferrara, mainly because Guus Hiddink's wages are considered too steep.

“At the moment there are so many rumours around!” joked the under-fire Coach. He then commented on more funds for the January transfer window.

“We will certainly have to work on the market to replace some players who have left and try to get others back from injury. We had a very small squad at our disposal tonight.

“I am very relaxed, honestly. I'm very happy for this win, but above all happy for the lads, as they deserve the kind of satisfaction that recently they haven't been able to enjoy.”

http://www.football-italia.net/jan13x.html

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Ciro Balboa seems pretty convinced he will be around. Interesting that he says we will go back in the market, what is the point of loaning players out who cost €8-10m and bringing in more guys to replace them?