(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral came up with two superb saves in the penalty shootout to help Napoli defeat Juventus 6-5 and lift the Italian Super Cup at Al Sadd Stadium here yesterday.
In a thrilling encounter, which went down to the wire, there were flashes of brilliance from ace strikers Carlos Tevez and Gonazalo Higuian, who scored two goals each, but in the end it was Cabral's performance which made the difference.
At the end of full-time, the two teams were locked one-all and the 30 minutes of extra time also failed to break the deadlock with the teams sharing two goals apiece.
In the penalty shootout, Cabral kept out the shots of Giorgio Chiellini and Roberto Pereyra to hand Napoli their first silverware of the season, while Simone Padoin shot wide for Juventus and star striker Tevez effort found the goalpost.
For Juventus, Gianluigi Buffon saved the tries of Jorginho and Dries Mertens but his efforts were overshadowed by Cabral.
Earlier a couple of goals from Tevez (fourth and 106th minute) for Juventus and Higuain (67th and 118th) for Napoli gave the capacity crowd a lot to cheer about.
Juventus took the early lead when Tevez capitalised on a defensive lapse to drive in an adroit ground shot past Cabral.
Buoyed an early goal, the Serie A leaders enjoyed more ball possession in the first quarter with midfielder Andrea Pirlo acting as the fulcrum of the attacks.
Cheered on by the pro-Juventus crowd, Pirlo controlled the pace of the game with skill and precise passes.
Napoli, on the other hand, relied on hitman Higuain to create ripples in the Juve defense. The Italian striker was a constant threat with his quick body-feints to the Juve defense.
Napoli counter-attacked after the early setback and a few chances, but without success.
After a relative lull in action, Juve nearly doubled their lead but Tevez's volley was punched away by Cabral.
Thereafter, both teams came close to finding the back of the net a few times but there were no goals.
In the second-half, Napoli were keen on wiping off the deficit and Rafael Benitez's boys finally ripped open the Juve defense in the 67th minute with Jonathan De Guzman setting up Higuian with the perfect cross, which he headed home.
With the teams tied one-all, at the end of 90 minutes of play, the match went into extra-time.
Juve took the lead in the
106th minute with Tevez again finding the net with an angular drive after Paulo Pogba set him up, sending Juve fans into a frenzy.
But Napoli fans had the last laugh with an equaliser two minutes from end.
Higuian broke through and shot home in the 118th minute to set up what turned out to be a thrilling penalty shoot-out.
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