Milan didn’t leave the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona empty-handed, but it almost certainly felt that way. Stefano Pioli’s men were in complete control of proceedings, only to allow Napoli to claw their way back from a 2-0 halftime deficit en route to earning a 2-2 draw in front of home fans.
When Olivier Giroud’s first-half double catapulted Milan 2-0 up, a 4-0 victory in this fixture last season must have crossed fans’ minds. All signs were pointing in that direction. Rossoneri looked superior in all aspects of the game and had plenty of chances to put the game to bed before halftime.
However, Pioli either failed to communicate his ideas to the players in the dressing room, or complacency got the better of Milan. But the visitors put on a horror performance in the second half. Napoli knew how to take advantage of every defensive mistake, leveling the score through Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori.
Things could’ve got worse for Milan if it wasn’t for Mike Maignan’s leg save to deny Khivcha Kvaratskhelia right before the final whistle. A frustrating draw that hurts like a loss left a bitter taste in Pioli’s mouth.
“If we had lost this match too we would have had to talk about an unfortunate moment. The mistake was conceding the first goal, we let the opponent back into the match,” the Milan boss conceded in the post-match interview, as quoted by MilanNews.
“For what we created today, two goals are too few. It’s a shame because the performance was there. Coming out with only one point is a disappointment.”
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