Gonzalo Higuain has been banned for four matches following his complete mental breakdown against Udinese. After seeing a second yellow, Higuain completely broke rank and pushed the referee before taking his frustrations out on teammates, opponents, coaches and basically anyone and everyone that tried to intervene. It was a moment of madness that has now stripped Napoli of any chance to win the Scudetto.
Higuain's suspension means he will now miss the two crucial away trips at Inter Milan and Roma, which is devastating for Napoli. Higuain has been far and away Napoli's best player this season having scored 30 goals in 31 games, which makes him the first striker in Serie A to hit that tally in over a decade. The last striker to do so was Luca Toni in the 2005/06 season with Fiorentina.
Gonzalo #Higuain this season:
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) April 3, 2016
Before Udinese, Napoli were in touching distance of Juventus and looked set to challenge to the very end. Now, they sit six points behind the Old Lady with seven games to go, and they will be without their leading scorer for four of those. Given that Juventus haven't lost in the league since October 28, 2015 against Sassuolo, that sort of gap is borderline insurmountable.
Photo: @AcmPassion | Twitter
The chances of Napoli leap-frogging Juventus were already slim to begin with, make no mistake about that, and Napoli probably still would have lost if Higuain remained on the pitch. Yet, Higuain's suspension now means that Napoli could be in danger of sliding down the table if results don't go their way against Inter and Roma, and symbolically, it is the final nail in the coffin of their title charge.
Photo; @LeLeAngeli | Twitter
Gonzalo Higuain deserves a lot of credit. After all, it's because of him that they are where they are. Yet his uncharacteristic lapse in discipline came at bad time for the club, who must now try to pick up the pieces of what was once an extremely promising season. The club are launching an appeal against the ban, but it is doubtful the suspension will be eased.
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