Spalletti and his counterpart Antonio Conte were both attempting to get the better of sides with whom they had won the Scudetto, and it was Conte’s Napoli who fired an early warning shot just six minutes in, when Scott McTominay headed David Neres’ cross a whisker wide.
But Juventus didn’t heed that warning, as on their very next attack, Neres got free on the right and played a low centre to Rasmus Hojlund, who turned the ball home from close range.
Juventus responded to the early setback by having plenty of the ball, but failed to generate any chances. And having sat back for 20 minutes, Napoli came close to doubling their lead when a Giovanni Di Lorenzo header had to be tipped over by the acrobatic Michele Di Gregorio.
Overall though, it was a half light on clear opportunities, even with McTominay again seeing a header go agonisingly wide at a corner in the moments before half-time.
I Bianconeri had already come from behind to earn at least a point three times under Spalletti, though their chances of making that four would have been reduced soon after the restart, had Di Gregorio not helped a Hojlund effort over the bar following a powerful run from the Dane.
McTominay then completed a hat-trick of chances flashing narrowly wide with a low free-kick.
That latest miss was made all the more painful by a Juve equaliser just before the hour-mark, as Kenan Yildiz rounded off a flowing move by playing a one-two with Weston McKennie and slotting the ball past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from a tight angle.
Parity lasted until 12 minutes from time, when McKennie inadvertently set up Hojlund to score his second, as it was the American’s header back across goal from another Neres cross which teed the striker up to nod I Partenopei back in front.
Napoli stifled the inevitable late pressure from the visitors effectively to ensure they will go a year without a home league defeat.
Meanwhile, Juve remain stuck on one away victory this season, with eight points now separating them from the new leaders.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rasmus Hojlund (Napoli)
