Canadian David finding his form at Juventus with home World Cup approaching

Juventus’ Jonathan David [AP Photo]

Canada standout Jonathan David is rediscovering his form with a home World Cup approaching.

David scored his third goal in four matches and Juventus beat defending champion Napoli 3-0 in Serie A yesterday [Macau time].

The result meant that Luciano Spalletti got the better of Antonio Conte with both coaches meeting former squads.

Midway through the first half, David chested down a pass over the top from Manuel Locatelli and pushed it in.

“(David) showed that he can hold his own in a duel in the box where there’s no space, so it has to be taken away from the opponent,” Spalletti said. “If you put all your strength into those moments, it’s fine, otherwise you don’t get there. He scored a goal as a proper striker.”

Three minutes earlier, Juventus midfielder Khephren Thuram had hit the post, and three minutes after the goal the Turin club had another chance when Francisco Conceicao’s shot was cleared off the line by Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno.

Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic added second-half goals for host Juventus.

Napoli dropped from third to fourth, level on points with Roma, which drew 1-1 with second-place AC Milan.

Juventus was left in fifth.

Spalletti coached Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023, while Conte led Juventus to three straight Italian league titles after also playing for the club.

David scored in his Serie A debut for Juventus in August but then had a long drought before rediscovering his form this month with a goal and an assist against Sassuolo and another goal against Cremonese. He also had an assist in Juve’s victory over Benfica in the Champions League last week.

David’s season has also had to weather a coaching change, with Spalletti replacing the fired Igor Tudor in October.

Canada is co-hosting this year’s World Cup with the United States and Mexico.

Canada is in a group with Qatar, Switzerland and another team still to be determined by European playoffs that include four-time champion Italy.

Spalletti was also impressed by United States international Weston McKennie playing in a more offensive position than his usual midfield role.

“McKennie is a perfect central striker,” the coach said. “He fights, he’s strong in the air and he can jump high. He plays to get results because he makes decisions. He would be a perfect striker.”

The only good news for Napoli was that Romelu Lukaku came on in the second half for his first action since getting injured during a preseason friendly.

Lukaku wasted his only chance after a nice setup from Rasmus Hojlund.

Milan dropped five points behind Serie A leader Inter Milan with its draw at Roma.

Koni De Winter put Milan ahead in the second half by completing a set play following a corner kick and an assist from Luka Modric.

Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized with a penalty for Roma following a handball by Milan defender Davide Bartesaghi.

Milan remained unbeaten since a loss to Cremonese in its season opener in August.

Also, seventh-place Atalanta routed Parma 4-0 with Giacomo Raspadori scoring in his first start for the Bergamo club after transferring from Atletico Madrid.

Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa came back from two goals down to beat 10-man Bologna 3-2 with an injury-time winner from Junior Messias; and Sassuolo beat Cremonese 1-0. ANDREW DAMPF, ROME, MDT/AP