AC Milan 0-0 Napoli
A scoreless draw doesn’t always mean we’ve seen a bad game, and this stalemate between Milan and Napoli was nothing of the kind.
Serie A: Milan vs Napoli was a toe-to-toe affair that showed us the best of Italian football, even without a goal. It’s probably a better result for Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan who stay in the top four, for now, while Napoli’s hopes of catching Juventus at the top of the league are fast disappearing.
The pre-match Milan vs Napoli odds pitched a draw at 3.30, and neither side deserved to lose.
Highlights of the game
It was all Napoli in the opening exchanges, and Milan’s young star keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was called into action in the sixth minute, getting down quickly to deny Jose Callejon after he met a Lorenzo Insigne cross. And seconds later, Kalidou Koulibaly came close when he met Dries Mertens’ cross with a firm header.
Insigne had a couple of good efforts, the second whistling just past the right-hand post after midfielder Piotr Zielinski had put him in.
Young Patrick Cutrone has been starting in the Milan side, having taken his opportunity with the impending departure of Gonzalo Higuain. He made his mark on the Napoli team, pulling up for two early fouls. But he came close to creating a telling chance when he found Hakan Calhanoglu in space and his shot arrowed towards the bottom corner, but David Ospina made a smart save.
Mario Rui and Zielinski both had long-range efforts off target. Milan came closer again when Calhanoglu shot from distance, but Ospina saved it. Then Milan’s young Brazilian talent, Lucas Paqueta, took a pass from Suso but he fired wide.
Milan came out for the second half on the front foot, and Paqueta forced a fine save from Ospina in the bottom corner. Franck Kessie shot wide when he collected the ball after a short corner routine.
Napoli fought back and Zielinski put an incisive ball into Insigne, but his shot slid past the post. Dries Mertens had an effort blocked, and then Napoli top scorer Arkadiusz Milik shot straight at Donnarumma when Zielinski created another chance for the visitors. The Milan keeper then made a great save to keep out Zielinski when his shot flew towards the top corner.
Milan’s new signing Kryzstof Piatek received a rapturous reception at the San Siro when the players were warming up and he started the game on the bench. He’s scored 13 league goals for Genoa this season and the home fans couldn’t wait for him to take the pitch. And the stadium roared when that moment came on 71 minutes, Cutrone making way for the new striker.
And he almost made a rapid impact, putting in Mateo Musacchio who forced another smart save from Ospina low to his right. Meanwhile, man-of-the-match Zielinski continued his attack on Milan’s goal with two long-range efforts, the second saved by Donnarumma in the bottom corner.
Napoli finished the game with ten men when Fabian Ruiz picked up a second yellow card for a handball, which won’t have pleased Ancelotti who must feel like the Scudetto is drifting away towards Turin.
Great game, though!
Key statistics
In an evenly-fought first half, the two teams shared possession and shots, at 49/51 and six attempts each. Both teams were guarding the ball jealously with a passing accuracy of 89 per cent. This was Serie A at its finest.
The tempo rose in the second half, and Napoli shaded the possession but the two teams traded blow for blow, with 14 shots each, the keepers earning their corn with five saves (Ospina) and six (Donnarumma). Passing accuracy stayed in the high 80s.
The Milan vs Napoli results are still in Napoli’s favour — 12 to ten — and the Azzurri has now gone nine unbeaten against Milan.
What’s next?
SBOBET Serie A fans will have a close eye on tomorrow’s fixtures, particularly Juventus’ tough test away to Lazio when the champions can stretch their lead at the top with a win.
There’s a huge week ahead for both Milan and Napoli. First, they come back to the San Siro to take each other on again, this time in the Coppa Italia quarter-final, and next week Milan has a crunch battle away to top four-rivals Roma.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti’s team will host Sampdoria next weekend; the visitors are having a good season and are in the hunt for a Europa League place after thumping Udinese 4-0 earlier today.
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