—- Gennaro Gattuso continued his fine form as manager of Napoli as they defeated Juventus on penalties to lift the Coppa Italia.

Maurizio Sarri failed to win a trophy during 147 games in charge of Napoli, and his hopes of winning his first silverware as Juventus boss were thwarted ironically by his former club – in Gattuso’s 17th game in charge.

Gianluigi Buffon’s heroics were in vain as Napoli claimed their first piece of silverware in six years after edging out Juventus 4-2 on penalties at the Stadio Olimpico.

The 42-year-old goalkeeper produced a stunning save to deny Lorenzo Insigne in first-half stoppage time before thwarting Nikola Maksimovic and then Elif Elmas in the dying stages to ensure a goalless draw after 90 minutes.

The match headed straight to a shootout, where Paulo Dybala saw his effort saved while Juventus team-mate Danilo blazed over, with Insigne, Matteo Politano, Maksimovic and Arkadiusz Milik all finding the net for Napoli.

An unexpected triumph for the Partenopei in Rome was their sixth Coppa Italia and first since 2014, the same year they won the Supercoppa Italiana after defeating Juventus on spot-kicks.

This is a first piece of managerial silverware for Napoli head coach Gattuso, who won the tournament as a player with Milan in 2003 in a glittering career.

Juventus will have little time to lick their wounds as the Serie A season resumes this weekend, with the Turin giants currently atop the standings by just one point ahead of second-placed Lazio.

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