Napoli's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League have been dealt a severe blow with a 3-1 defeat at champions Juventus in Serie A.

With two thirds of an historic treble already completed, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri made nine changes to his starting lineup for the match.

© Getty Images

The visitors did most of the pressing during the opening stages as Dries Mertens was denied by Gianluigi Buffon, before David Lopez's header from the resulting corner was kept out by the veteran goalkeeper.

Napoli were made to pay for those early misses with 13 minutes played when Roberto Pereyra slotted in confidently after being played in by Kingsley Coman.

© Getty Images

Despite going behind, Napoli responded positively as Lopez flashed a shot wide of goal moments after Mertens had curled an effort high and wide.

Rafael Benitez's side continued to put pressure on the champions, but a lack of composure in the final third proved to be their downfall.

At the other end of the pitch, Paul Pogba came close to doubling Juve's advantage when he blazed a drive inches over the crossbar.

Napoli had a chance to get level with five minutes left in the half, only for Faouzi Ghoulam to shoot off target when he had plenty of support alongside him.

© Getty Images

The away team had to wait just five minutes to get level after the restart as Lopez fired in the rebound after Lorenzo Insigne's penalty had been saved by Buffon following Kwadwo Asamoah's handball.

Juventus came alive after being pegged back, with Claudio Marchisio missing before Pogba and Alvaro Morata were both kept at bay by goalkeeper Mariano Andujar.

An entertaining encounter saw Napoli go on the offensive as the game reached the 70-minute mark, but Buffon came to Juve's rescue when he blocked Christian Maggio's shot at the back post, after he had tipped Lopez's powerful effort away from danger.

While it looked as if the visitors were going to be the next team to find the net, Juventus got themselves in front with 13 minutes remaining through Stefano Sturaro, who showed neat footwork on the edge of the box before finding the top corner.

Napoli had a good chance to earn themselves a share of the spoils late on, but Lopez could only head narrowly wide after Buffon had missed a catch from a corner.

The away side's night got worse in stoppage time when Miguel Britos was sent off for headbutting Morata, while Simone Pepe sealed the points for Juventus in the dying seconds when he converted the resulting penalty.