MILAN: Kenan Yildiz fired Juventus back from two goals down to draw 4-4 in an incredible clash at Inter Milan on Sunday, which allowed Napoli to extend their Serie A lead to four points.
Turkey starlet Yildiz came off the bench with around half an hour left at a packed and pulsating San Siro and brought third-placed Juve back from the dead with two superb finishes in the final 20 minutes.
The 19-year-old stunned the more than 70,000 home fans who were convinced that they were watching their team make a Scudetto statement when Denzel Dumfries rolled home what looked like Inter's decisive fourth goal in the 53rd minute.
"Today I was really happy to score my first goal and second goal, also against a big team like Inter. I hope to continue like this," Yildiz told DAZN, adding that he has faith in Juve's title chances.
"We hope always, but the season is still long, we want to give our best and I hope at the end that it's going to be good."
And although both teams lost ground on Napoli it will be champions Inter, in second, who will feel the sting of Sunday's draw after missing a clutch of chances following Dumfries' strike.
Inter were two ahead thanks to a beautiful strike from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and two Piotr Zielinski penalties, all in the first half, before Dumfries' low finish.
Inter went close to sealing the points through Federico Dimarco, Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez but got caught twice on the break by Yildiz, whose double was also his first goals of the season.
Juve stay third, a further point off the title pace after showing huge fight to bounce back and take a precious draw from their fiercest rivals.
Thiago Motta's side, missing a host of first-choice players, had already fought back from going behind to Zielinski's first spot-kick through tap-ins from Dusan Vlahovic and Timothy Weah.
Former Inter midfielder Motta, who won the 2010 Champions League with the "Nerazzurri", got his substitutions right while Yann Bisseck's poor performance in place of Benjamin Pavard aided Juve's stunning comeback.
"We had the right attitude and spirit, and at the end we even tried to get the win," said Motta.
"We need to look at why at times we play brilliantly and in other moments we seem to be dominated by opponents."
Lazio are fifth, a point behind Juve, after seeing off struggling Genoa 3-0 with a dominating performance in Rome.
Tijjani Noslin's jinking run and low finish put Lazio ahead in the 21st minute before Pedro and Matias Vecino sealed a thoroughly deserved win late on.
Genoa are third from bottom after a seven-match winless run in which they have lost five times, and are set to sign Mario Balotelli in an attempt to solve a injury crisis which has crippled their attack.
"Save for any surprises he will be a Genoa player tomorrow (Monday)," said Genoa's sporting director Marco Ottolini ahead of Sunday's thumping in the Italian capital.
Balotelli, who last played in Serie A for Brescia four years ago and last season was at Adana Demirspor in Turkey, was once one of the young stars of Italian football and considered a potentially world-class striker.
But at the age of 34, his move to Genoa represents a last chance on the big stage after a rocky career in which uncomfortable off-field headlines have been as common as goals and trophies.
A career high point came at Euro 2012, when he starred up front for losing finalists Italy, having just helped Manchester City win their first English league title since 1968.
Balotelli, born to Ghanaian parents, has also been a frequent target for racist abuse in his native Italy, with Verona, Roma and Juventus fans among those who have targeted him. - AFP