Napoli came out victorious on their third successive Serie A visit to the Stadio San Siro for the first time since 1979, defeating defending champions Milan 2-1. After dominating the first half of play without the end product, the Rossoneri collapsed in an action-packed second half to relinquish their unbeaten league start.
Napoli made a statement of intent amid a keenly-contested battle for the Scudetto, halting Milan’s imperious 22-game undefeated Serie A streak on their own playing ground. Despite starting on the front foot, Stefano Pioli’s men failed to make their early chances pay off. Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud wasted some promising opportunities inside the opening 15 minutes.
Milan dominated through and through in the first half, limiting Napoli to a mere three attempts on goal while boasting 11 themselves, including three on target. However, the Partenopei shot-stopper Alex Meret put on a career-defining display to keep Giroud and Rade Krunic at bay, even though he had no right to make those saves.
Meret’s sensational first-half performance handed Napoli a massive leg-up moving forward as he single-handedly ensured a scoreless halftime draw. Pioli took to the bench to shake things up at the break, pulling off captain Davide Calabria in favour of Barcelona loanee Sergino Dest but to no avail.
After winning both previous league visits to San Siro, Napoli yet again proved they have the recipe to pick apart this fortress. Milan headed into proceedings on a run of six Serie A home wins, looking to make it seven on the trot for the first time since 2013. But Luciano Spalletti’s team had other plans.
Dest brought down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the box, with Matteo Politano stepping up to take the penalty and fire Napoli to a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. Unfazed by the visitors’ advantageous position, Milan continued to mount pressure in the attacking third and found their equaliser through Giroud.
Hernandez burst down the left flank and into the penalty area before setting up the French goal-getter on a silver platter. Despite finding their leveller in the 69th minute, Milan wanted more, but Napoli’s rock-solid backline thwarted every attempt from Pioli’s men to complete the turnaround.
Instead of turning the game on its head, Milan paid the ultimate price for overzealously pursuing the winning goal. Only 12 minutes since being introduced at the expense of Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone headed home Mario Rui’s inviting cross to restore the visitors’ lead and eventually all three points.
Reluctant to give up, Milan tried to fight back again, but Pierre Kalulu’s first-time effort from point-blank range rattled off the crossbar, leaving the San Siro faithful in despair. As a result, the Rossoneri slipped outside the top four, while Napoli solidified their place at the summit alongside Atalanta.