🧨 Napoli go 2nd: 1-0 over Milan! Politano benched, Allegri 😡 | OneFootball

Napoli beat Milan 1-0 at the Maradona thanks to a goal from Politano (off the bench) in the 79th minute. Conte’s side dominated the second half and moved above the Rossoneri in the table, who after 4 months give up 2nd place, now occupied by Napoli, who remain 7 points behind Inter.

Milan stay on 63 points, with a 6-point cushion over 5th place, occupied by Juve.

In the first half Milan looked dangerous through Pavlovic with a header, after he took advantage of a mistimed rush by Milinkovic. Napoli, however, saw more of the ball and came close to taking the lead with a shot from Spinazzola, who beat a man and shot with no pressure at all from the Rossoneri defense. Chance also for Nkunku: his effort from a great position in the box went over.

After the break Conte’s side took control and Maignan kept Milan alive with a save from Giovane’s shot: a stop worth 0.57 xGOT after an individual run by the Brazilian. The introductions of Gimenez, Pulisic and A. Santos added freshness, while at Napoli McTominay had to play up front because of the absences of Hojlund and Lukaku.

In the 79th minute Politano scored off the bench: Fofana failed to track Olivera’s run, he crossed, De Winter got a touch, and the ball fell into the path of the onrushing Politano. In the closing stages the Rossoneri pushed forward but failed to create dangerous chances despite the introductions of Leao and Loftus-Cheek in the 82nd minute  

👎 A toothless second half from Milan!

Before their late push after going 1-0 down, Milan had managed just one harmless shot in the second half, from distance by Athekame. Overall, the Rossoneri hit the target only once, through Fofana.

💣 Politano breaks the deadlock: 1-0 off the bench! Allegri 😡

79TH MINUTE - After dominating the second half, Napoli break the deadlock through Politano, who had come off the bench in the 74th minute. Alisson Santos produces a brilliant touch for Olivera (left unmarked by Fofana), who crosses into the box, De Winter gets a touch and the ball reaches Politano in stride.

After the goal - DAZN reports - Allegri was in disbelief: "How can you concede a goal like that?!" he said on the bench.

♻️ Saelemaekers comes off angry, McTominay up front

69TH MINUTE - Giovane comes off after playing as the lone striker, with Alisson Santos replacing him. McTominay then moves into the central striker role because of the absences of Hojlund and Lukaku.

62ND MINUTE - Athekame and Santiago Gimenez come on for Saelemaekers and Fullkrug. As he leaves the field, the winger is visibly angry, disappointed with his performance according to DAZN.

🧤 Maignan SAVES Milan, 0.57 xGOT stop

50TH MINUTE - After a move wasted by Nkunku, Napoli break forward through an individual run by Giovane: his shot is headed for the corner, but Maignan flies across and pushes it behind for a corner. A 0.57 xGOT save: usually one in every two shots like that ends up in the net.

⚡Pavlvovic like a "flash"! Nkunku error

36TH MINUTE - Fofana gives the ball away carelessly and Napoli break: a through ball sends Giovane seemingly clear on goal. Pavlovic recovers brilliantly with his pace and blocks the shot.

35TH MINUTE - After a fine play by Fofana, Nkunku finds himself free to shoot from the left side. His left-footed effort, however, goes over.

🤯 Spinazzola almost with a golazo! STATIC defense 💤

23RD MINUTE - Spinazzola easily dribbles past Fofana and, inexplicably, Milan’s defense stands still as he drives through the middle before shooting just wide of the top corner.

👀 Where is Milinkovic going? Pavlovic nearly scores

12TH MINUTE - From a wide free kick for Milan, Milinkovic-Savic comes out very late on Pavlovic, who meets it with a header. The effort goes just wide, but only after a scare, given that Napoli’s goalkeeper was completely off his line.

💪 Stadium choreography for the Scudetto race

The Maradona fires up Napoli with a tifo for the Scudetto race: "Let’s put everything on the line, ALL IN".

😡 Manna warns Lukaku: "There will be consequences"

Before the match Giovanni Manna spoke about the Lukaku situation, with the player staying in Belgium for treatment against Napoli’s wishes: "Lukaku? The situation is clear. He had a small effusion, he preferred to stay in Belgium against our wishes. We wouldn’t have opposed it, but we wanted to speak to him here in Naples".

"We didn’t like it out of respect for the group. He’ll return next week, hopefully. He knows there will be consequences. The group is the most important thing right now, today Giovane is playing and we move on"  

🆕 First time for Nkunku+Fullkrug: the Frenchman speaks

For the first time Fullkrug and Nkunku are playing together in the cup, and it was the Frenchman himself who spoke before the match about that choice: "We have a good relationship. We talk a lot on the pitch but also off it, and today we’re playing together for the first time. I can’t wait for us to do our best together".

✅ Official lineups: Hojlund OUT

NAPOLI (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Juan Jesus, Buongiorno, Olivera; Gutierrez, Anguissa, Lobotka, Spinazzola; De Bruyne, McTominay; Giovane. Coach: Conte

MILAN (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Fullkrug, Nkunku. Coach: Allegri

As a reminder, Hojlund is absent because of a stomach virus. Leao starts on the bench.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 CARLO HERMANN - AFP or licensors