A host of records were put into play when Milan ran away narrow victors at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Napoli failed to grab an equalizer after Frenchman Olivier Giroud’s instinctive finish right at the start of the second period – a goal that could well prove to be decisive at the end of the season, given the tight three-way race for the Scudetto title with ten matchdays to go.
During one of the Rossoneri’s most important wins of the season, number of records were broken, some of which will provide hope for the red and black side of the Milan divide to grab their first Italian league title in over a decade.
Milan reach the 60-point mark after the first 28 games of the league season for the first time since 2011/12 – one season after the Rossoneri last grabbed a Scudetto title, their 18th league championship in 2010/11. It was also the first time since 1981 that Napoli lost two consecutive home games against Milan.
Coach Stefano Pioli also managed to bag a ‘first’ in his career by beating Partenopei tactician Luciano Spalletti for the first time in ten league encounters.
However, three other accolades head towards man of the match Olivier Giroud. The French World Cup winner scored his 11th goal of the campaign in his 27th appearance, equaling his total tally from the whole of last season for Chelsea in 31 matches. He also managed to bag his first away league goal in Rossoneri colors, a run that goes back to 15 February 2021, when he last scored a Premier League goal for Chelsea.
Giroud also joins the ranks of Atalanta’s Ruslan Mailnovskyi and Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca, as only the third player to have netted against both Inter and Napoli this Serie A season.
Milan lead Inter by just two points, although the Nerazzurri possess an extra game in hand. Whereas, Napoli sit in third place with 57 points.