Two controversial second half penalties by Maurizio Domizzi gave Napoli a 3-1 home win over Juventus in Serie A.

Alessandro Del Piero had put the visitors in front immediately after the start of the second half but, following Walter Gargano's equaliser soon after, referee Mauro Bergonzi awarded the hosts two spot kicks.

An enthralling, high-tempo first half somehow stayed goalless, Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi causing all kinds of problems from wide positions and testing Gianluigi Buffon with a fifth minute header, while Del Piero really should have scored for the visitors ten minutes later but hesitated when put through by the impressive Raffaele Palladino.

Lavezzi thought he should have had a penalty on the immediate counter-attack while Juve old-boy Marcelo Zalayeta almost pulled a cheeky backheel goal out of the bag a few minutes later, while down the other end a Manuele Blasi mistake let in David Trezeguet, but his shot was saved by Gennaro Iezzo.

The sides traded attacks in a breathtaking opening period, with Trezeguet seeing a goal correctly disallowed for offside on 37 minutes and Gyorgy Garics denied by an alert Buffon two minutes later.

And - as if it could get any more exciting - the second half was even more topsy-turvy. Bianconeri boss Claudio Ranieri could not urge his side on from the touchline after his dismissal last week but he must have said something in the dressing room as Juve quite amazingly scored immediately from the restart.

Sergio Almiron went on a typical surging run, passing the ball wide to Palladino, who played a one-two with Trezeguet before sliding it across for Del Piero to finish.

One would have expected Napoli to be shell-shocked but they responded in the best way possible, Gargano with a driving run through the heart of Juventus' defence followed by a cool finish past Buffon only two minutes later.

The rhythm had been well and truly established, Zdenek Grygera finding Trezeguet with a great centre, his header rebounding off the crossbar and into the path of Del Piero, who somehow fired over from the edge of the box with the goal at his mercy.

Juve were trying to turn the screw but the referee handed the lead to Napoli when he quite amazingly pointed to the spot after what seemed to be a clean tackle from Giorgio Chiellini on Lavezzi.

Defender Maurizio Domizzi stepped up and, left-footed, sent Buffon to the right and the ball into the opposite corner to give Napoli the lead on 62 minutes.

And eight minutes later the same man sent ball and keeper in opposite directions for 3-1, after Buffon was somewhat harshly adjudged to have brought down Zalayeta, who jumped over him after being played in by a somewhat heavy one-two.

The two-goal cushion allowed Napoli to sit back and hit Juventus on the break, Lavezzi forcing Buffon into a save with Hasan Salihamidzic going close with a near-post shot following a Juve corner.

But Napoli were in control and held on comfortably to a win which moves them fifth in Serie A for now, with Juve likely to slip to third or fourth after Roma and Fiorentina play on Sunday.

Reda Maher / Eurosport