Koulibaly's late winner vs. Juventus pushes Napoli back in Scudetto race

Kalidou Koulibaly's header could go down as legend in southern Italy.

Napoli's towering centre-back nodded in a crucial header in the 90th minute on Sunday to give the Scudetto challenger an invaluable 1-0 win over Juventus.

The last-minute theatrics cut Juventus' lead in the standings to just a single point and, more importantly, improved Napoli's odds of celebrating a first title since 1990.

It's only Juventus' third home defeat in Serie A since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.

Napoli pressed for a breakthrough the entire match, hassling the host whenever one of its players had the ball. As the clock wound down, it seemed Juventus would see out the contest. Then Napoli earned a corner kick, and Koulibaly lept over everyone to earn three points.

Juventus appeared content for the match to end in a draw, leaving Napoli to take the initiative while hoping opportunities would arise on the counter-attack. Douglas Costa threatened on occasion, but Juventus failed to register a shot on target. Manager Massimiliano Allegri's side paid for its negative approach.

The two lone contenders for the Serie A crown now have four matches to decide their fate. Juventus has a slightly more difficult schedule ahead, with away fixtures still to be played at Inter and Roma. All of Napoli's remaining opponents are currently below the European places.

Earlier in the week, Juventus were putting together a convincing argument for its seventh straight Scudetto. The Bianconeri were enjoying a 1-0 lead over Crotone and Napoli was losing to Udinese - a combination of results that temporarily gave the defending champion a nine-point advantage. Juventus eventually drew in southern Italy, while Napoli pulled off a 4-2 comeback victory, putting extra emphasis on Sunday's title clash.

The onus was on Napoli to make a move. And it did.