Leaders SSC Napoli took three points from Milan on Tuesday evening with a lot of cleverness and two outstanding moments. The better team despite the 0-2 defeat was actually AC Milan.
Given that there were eight points between the two teams before kick-off, it was hard to call this a top game between evenly matched sides – now there are already eleven points between them. But let’s start at the beginning.
AC Milan’s away game in Bologna that was scheduled for last weekend was canceled due to heavy rainfall. So, unexpectedly, a little time had passed since the 3-1 win in the Champions League against Club Bruges. Nevertheless, only five players from the starting lineup remained from that match: Maignan, Emerson Royal, Loftus-Cheek, Fofana and Morata. The ailing Pulisic and, surprisingly, Rafael Leao were only on the bench. Captain Theo and Reijnders were missing due to red cards.
But it was the guests who got off to the better start. Lukaku initially made an unfortunate block to prevent Kvaratskhelia from scoring in the 4th minute, but then showed his trademark qualities: Zambo Anguissa sent the center forward on a breakaway, and Lukaku used his body spectacularly against Pavlovic to slide the ball into the corner for an early 1-0 lead.
But pretty much from that point on, the league leaders retreated, apparently relying on defensive tactics. Napoli had won 1-0 against US Lecce at the weekend, with Kvaratskhelia and Politano displacing Ngonge and David Neres on the bench in comparison.
Milan woke up shortly after falling behind, tried to play through on the wings and created good chances for Musah (18th) and Samu Chukwueze (21st). The Rossoneri were unable to capitalize on a bad pass from Buongiorno in their own penalty area because Meret saved (28th).
However, anyone who thought that SSC Napoli’s cautious performance would not end well was mistaken: before the break, the league leaders had two strong offensive actions, of which di Lorenzo’s cross (37th) was very dangerous for Maignan, but the other action was more consequential.
The previously pale Kvaratskhelia showed his full class: From the left, he cut inside parallel to the box and sent the ball into the corner for the 2-0 lead (43′).
The better team were therefore behind at half-time – and were unable to rectify this after the break. The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium celebrated for about a minute after Morata headed in what looked like the 1-2, but the VAR took the goal back to 1-1 because of offside (47′).
Although the promising Pulisic and Rafael Leao came on after an hour, neither they nor 16-year-old Camarda had a suitable individual action up their sleeves. AC Milan, who were largely superior in terms of play, died a little in beauty, while Napoli took all three points with a clever, defensively oriented performance.
Milan will be visiting neighboring Monza this Saturday evening (8:05 p.m. CET) – weather permitting – while Napoli will be hosting Atalanta on Sunday (12:30 p.m. CET).