HONOURS EVEN AT SAN SIRO
Serie A
AC Milan got themselves a hard-won draw that puts points on the board and boosts moral: it finished 1-1 against Napoli at San Siro, a result that put an end to the Rossoneri’s two-game losing run. All the action occurred during the first half, where Bonaventura cancelled out Lozano’s opener in style; that strike was his first Serie A in 412 days. He hadn’t scored since he netted against Torino on 7 October 2018. The Rossoneri put in a solid performance during the first half as they repeatedly threatened the Partonepei goal, and even though the tempo dropped a bit during the second 45 minutes Milan continued to cause problems for the Ancelotti's team. That result gave Milan their fifth point under Coach Pioli, but the performance at San Siro offers hope going forward that soon the results will match the performances. Milan lost Suso to an injury during the warm-up but were able to welcome back Jack Bonaventura, who returned to action after a year out injured. Now the team’s focus shifts to the Emilia Romagna region, where they will play Parma on Sunday 1 December at 15:00 CET and Bologna on Sunday 8 December at 20:45 CET.
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM THE MATCH
MATCH REPORT
It was Krunić who had Milan’s first opportunity as he tried to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle in the third minute. The Rossoneri had another good opportunity just three minutes later as Piątek just failed to connect with Paquetá’s cross from the right. The pressure continued as Meret did well to prevent the ball reaching Bonaventura in the eighth minute. But it was the visitors who took the lead in the 24th minute. Lozano was first onto a loose ball after Insigne had struck the crossbar from the edge of the area, and he was able to head past Donnarumma from close range. But Milan responded superbly with an equaliser in the 29th minute: Bonaventura received the ball from Krunić, generated a yard of space with a clever fake-shot before thumping the ball past Meret from the edge of the box. Theo’s dangerous cross in the 35th minute almost resulted in Hysaj turning the ball into his own net before Rebic headed wide from Krunić’s cross in the 42nd minute. Despite the Rossoneri threat it was Napoli who had the final chance of the half, as Donnarumma pulled off a great save to deny Insigne. Coach Pioli made a half-time change and sent on Kessie in the place of Rebić. Piątek came close two more times but was unable to beat the Napoli goalkeeper. Paquetá also kept Meret busy with a stinging shot with thirty minutes to go in the match. The Rossoneri, and in particular Piątek and Paquetá, were guilty of wasting two excellent crosses from Hernández, who was a constant presence on the left. Allan and Mertens had late chances to give Napoli all three points, but the result remained the same as it ended 1-1 at San Siro.
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 1-1 NAPOLI
AC MILAN (4-3-3): Donnarumma G.; Conti, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Hernández; Krunić, Biglia (73' Calabria), Paquetá; Rebić (46' Kessie), Piątek (85' Leão), Bonaventura. Subs.: Donnarumma A., Reina; Caldara, Gabbia; Brescianini; Maldini, Suso. Coach: Pioli.
NAPOLI (4-4-2): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Hysaj; Callejon (58' Mertens), Allan, Zielinski, Elmas; Lozano (83' Llorente), Insigne (65' Younes). Subs.: Karnezis, Ospina; Gaetano, Luperto, Ruiz, Manolas. Coach: Ancelotti.
Referee: Orsato from Schio.
Goals: 24' Lozano (N), 29' Bonaventura (M).
Booked: 26' Paquetá (M), 70' Elmas (N), 73' Hernández (M), 77' Younes (N).
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