Nigeria, Jan. 16 -- Matchday 18 in Serie A kicked off on Friday with the mammoth clash between leaders Napoli and second-placed Juventus at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona. AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus were tasked with reducing the gap to Napoli, but only Inter Milan did anything of the sort.

There was a torrent of goals compared to other weeks, with 32 goals scored in the nine matches already played. There were four home wins, three away wins, and a draw.

Having lost to Inter Milan when the league resumed after the World Cup, Napoli have now scaled through two hurdles to keep their Scudetto title hopes alive. Last Friday's game against hitherto second-placed Juventus was a big statement win for the Luciano Spalletti-led team.

Th...