Napoli 2-1 AC Milan: 5 Talking Points
Napoli returned to winning ways in the Serie A by beating AC Milan 2-1 at the Stadio San Paolo and extended their lead at the top to four points over defending champions Juventus, who are scheduled to play Sampdoria later today.
Maurizio Sarri's men displayed yet another impressive performance on the night and have underlined their credentials as genuine contenders for the title this season.
Lorenzo Insigne put the hosts ahead in the 33rd minute with a little help from the video assistant referee after his goal was initially disallowed for offside but the decision was overturned after further consultation.
Milan showed a bit of resistance in the second half, but the outcome of the game was determined when Piotr Zielinski came off the bench and got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Dries Mertens to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute.
Alessio Romagnoli planted a thunderous left-footed strike from outside the area to pull one back for the Rossoneri in stoppage time but it was too late to kick-start a comeback. Milan are struggling at the moment and are currently 11 points away from their desired UEFA Champions League qualification spot.
Here, we take a look at the 5 main talking points from the game:
#5 Plenty to ponder for Vincenzo Montella
Despite spending about £200 million in the summer on new recruitments, project Milan has looked rather abysmal under head coach Vincenzo Montella. The Serie A giants are currently 16 points away from league leaders Napoli and their recent loss means that they have lost all their games against teams above them in the table including rivals Inter.
A few of his decisions regarding team selection were questionable especially when he started Nikola Kalinic, who disappointed on the night, ahead of Andre Silva who was relatively better off when he came on towards the end of the first half.
Even though Napoli were ridiculously good in the first half, Montella's side lacked any real intent and were always chasing the game.
Things need to change quickly for Milan if they are to regain their status domestically as well as in Europe.