Napoli lost to Milan in Serie A

"The last few months people seem to have forgotten who we are, maybe because the results of the team are not good. But today we showed everyone that Milan are still champions of Italy, and we will fight. to the end", DAZN quoted midfielder Alexis Saelemaekers - the owner of the goal to set the score 4-0 - after the match.

This statement, according to Corriere dello Sports, is the most correct and sufficient explanation for Milan's surprise victory over Diego Maradona. Playing on the opponent's field, against a sublimated Napoli and predicted to almost certainly win this season, Milan fought with wounded pride and made their most impressive victory since the beginning of the season. . The defending champions soon led 2-0 in the first half, with goals from Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz, before doubling that gap in the first half of the second half, thanks to Leao and Saelemaekers.

With Napoli, the third defeat from the beginning of Serie A this season does not affect championship ambitions. The team under coach Luciano Spalletti is still at the top with 71 points, 16 points ahead of Lazio, and Milan, with 51 points, takes third place of rival Inter.

But the defeat at the hands of Milan at Diego Maradona's home is still a shock for Napoli. Worse, this defeat comes just 10 days before they are Milan's own guests in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. "If today the gap of 20 points between the two teams on the Serie A rankings table seems to be non-existent, imagine how their match in the upcoming Champions League will be...", Gazetta dello Sport commented, expressing worried about Napoli before the great war in the continental tournament.

Coach Spalletti himself also admitted this defeat would change the relationship between the two teams before facing off in the Champions League. He said: "What has changed is that people already know Napoli were unlucky against Milan. They reacted as if Milan were an opponent that could be easily put aside. Now they see that I was right when I said Napoli had to face an opponent. very strong when I know the results of the quarter-final draw."

The statistics on the field of Diego Maradona yesterday were strongly in favor of Napoli, when they controlled 61%, shot 20 times with four shots on target, compared to 14 and 8 of the opponent. But the sharp finish helped Milan leave with a jubilant victory.

In the 17th minute, Brahim Diaz went to the ball to eliminate both Stanislav Lobotka and Mario Rui on the right wing and then poked a slot to let Leao penetrate the penalty area, tire the ball over the head of goalkeeper Alex Meret. Less than ten minutes later, Diaz had another skillful handling phase, when he faked a shot with his right foot to deceive the Napoli defense and then placed the left foot diagonally to double the difference. Napoli have conceded two goals in 25 minutes for the first time in Serie A since the 3–4 loss to Juventus in August 2019.

In the 59th minute, Leao completed a double with the ball twisting the flanks of central defender Amir Rrahmani and then hitting the roof of the home net. Milan's sublime day ended in the 67th minute, when Alexis Saelemaekers dribbled in the middle of the circle of five Napoli players, rushed into the penalty area and finished between Meret's legs, setting the score 4-0.

Napoli have lost by a four-goal margin for the first time in Serie A since a 1-5 defeat at Atalanta in December 2007. Yesterday, owner Victor Osimhen could not play because of an injury when he joined the team, but Spalletti did not see this as the cause of Napoli's defeat. The Italian coach admitted that Napoli played "below normal", leaving plenty of space for opponents to take advantage of. He also assessed that Milan had an excellent performance, started strong and then made the most of every opportunity.