In the final fixture of Serie A round 27, Milan welcomed Napoli at the San Siro. The visitors were mostly the better side, and eventually earned a deserved victory in courtesy of Matteo Politano’s goal, as the former Inter winger gifted his old team an additional boost towards the Scudetto title. So here are our Player Ratings of the top clash between Milan and Napoli.
Milan XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6
The Rossoneri captain of the night made some solid saves throughout the match, especially against Zielinski and Ruiz, but was eventually beaten by Politano’s awkward low shot.
Diego Dalot – 6
The Portuguese was mostly pegged back by Insigne during the first half, but started to surge forward after the interval, but his delivery wasn’t always at point.
Matteo Gabbia – 5.5
The Italian youngster received a rare start, but struggled against the Partenopei’s pressure throughout the match. Failed to react properly on Politano’s run before the goal.
Fikayo Tomori – 5.5
The Englishman had a tough night, as the lack of chemistry between him and Gabbia was apparent at times. Found it difficult to deal with Insigne’s dribbling.
Theo Hernandez – 6
The Frenchman seemed to be the most likely player to create dangerous plays for Milan, as he put the Napoli defenders in trouble with his menacing runs. However, He was slow to drop back for his defensive duties, as Politano was allowed just enough space to score.
Sandro Tonali – 6
A hard working display from the former Brescia man, who spent his night battling to retrieve the ball for his side. His deep role meant that he was unable to contribute enough in the attacking phase.
Franck Kessié – 6
After his Old Trafford heroics on Thursday, it was only natural that the Ivorian star would suffer from a physical drop. Not a bad display by any means, but lacked his usual energy burst.
Samuel Castillejo – 5
Perhaps the Spaniard is only meant to feature as a super-sub, as he didn’t offer much from his rare start. We barely saw any of his renowned dribbles and shoots.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 5.5
The Turkish international is still far from his best form. Although he did provide his teammates with some good passes, his shooting is still way off-target.
Radu Krinic – 5.5
The former Empoli man is still adapting to his new role on the wing, and failed to provide good balls towards the opposition penalty box.
Rafael Leao – 5.5
The young Portuguese striker once again found himself isolated in attack. Was able to escape his markers on a couple of occasions, but only threatened Ospina’s goal with one dangerous shot on target.
Milan Substitutes
Brahim Diaz – 6
The young Spanish star added some energy to the final third with his tricks and flicks, but it didn’t lead to actual goal-scoring chances.
Alexis Saelemaekers – 5.5
The Belgian winger provided some energy to the right flank, but never really threatened to create something.
Ante Rebic – 4
The Croatian tested Ospina with a fine header, but ended up leaving Milan with a man down after mouthing some unkind words towards the referee, which effectively sealed the match for Napoli.
Soualiho Meité – 6
An energetic performance, but definitely not a game-changing substitution.
Jens Petter Hauge – N/A
Politano Lone Goal Puts a Damper on Milan Feeble Title Hopes –#SerieA #MilanNapoli https://t.co/LUDOUnhRbz
— The Cult of Calcio (@cultofcalcio) March 14, 2021
Napoli XI
David Ospina – 7
The Colombian didn’t have to intervene on many occasions, but provided safe hands whenever needed. Denied Rebic from scoring with a header.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 6
The Italian international did well to limit Theo’s danger in the first half, but struggled to contain the left back in the last 30 minutes, and was booked for his challenges.
Nikola Maksimovic – 6.5
The former Torino defender had a shaky start to the match, but grew stronger with the passing minutes, and helped his side in maintaining the clean sheet.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 7.5
A dominant performance from start to finish. The Senegalese star stood tall against all Milan attacks, and allowed no chances for Leao and company to break into the Napoli penalty box.
Elseid Hysaj – 7
An encouraging performance from the Albanian who managed to shut down the Diavolo’s right flank whilst although contributing offensively at times. Won back the ball that led to the match’s sole goal.
Diego Demme – 6.5
The underrated German did well to ensure that his side remained in control of the midfield battle. Helped in bringing the ball out from the back, and supported his teammates in defense whenever needed.
Fabian Ruiz – 6.5
The Spanish international could have scored a goal of his own but was denied by Donnarumma before scuffing the rebound. Kept the ball ticking in midfield with his smart passing.
Matteo Politano – 7
The Italian winger had a mostly quiet first half, but when the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t let it slip. Scored the lone goal of the match for Napoli with a courageous run towards the Milan box, followed by a cheeky low shot that went straight to the bottom corner.
Piotr Zielinski – 7
Another fine display from the former Udinese man. Despite wasting few chances of his own, ended up providing a sublime assist for Politano which sealed the match for his team.
Lorenzo Insigne – 6.5
Whenever the Partenopei captain had the ball within his feet, the opposition defenders were on their toes. Although he failed to score with a crazy lob, the winger had a very positive effect on his side’s play.
Dries Mertens – 5
A match to forget for the club’s all-time goalscorer, as he was unable to add much to his team’s attacks, despite facing an inexperienced pair of center backs.
Napoli Substitutes
Victor Osimhen – 6.5
A positive display from the young Nigerian, who provided Napoli’s attack with a different layer after replacing the ineffective Mertens.
Elif Elmas – N/A
Mario Rui – N/A
Tiémoué Bakayoko – N/A
