AC Milan 1-1 Napoli
Both AC Milan and Napoli came into their big Serie A matchup this weekend in desperate need of a win. Milan had lost three of their last four league matches–they went down to leaders Juventus before the international break–and were languishing on the bottom half of the table.
Meanwhile, former Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti brought his Napoli side whose recent Serie A 2019 results had seen them win just one of their last six games in the league. As a result, they are now way down in seventh place in the table.
In the end, the two struggling sides played out a 1-1 draw, a result which will do little to ease the concerns SBOBET Serie A fans have about both teams.
Highlights of the game
Milan were the early aggressors as they dominated possession during the opening minutes. Midfielder Rade Krunic got the first shot of the game, but he pulled his effort well wide.
But despite their early pressure, the hosts couldn’t create too many clear goalscoring opportunities. The best chance they had during the first 10 minutes was a dangerous cross from Krzystof Piatek was cut out by Napoli keeper Alex Meret before it could reach Giacomo Bonaventura, who would’ve had an easy tap-in.
Piatek would then have a shot of his own from just inside the penalty area on 18 minutes, but the Pole was unable to force Meret to a save. Alessio Romagnoli would also have a fairly weak header on target from a corner.
But despite barely threatening the Milan goal for nearly the first quarter of the game, Napoli surprisingly found themselves in front. After Lorenzo Insigne’s magnificent effort from the edge of the box crashed off the crossbar, Hirving Lozano was on hand to head home the rebound as Gianluigi Donnarumma was beaten on his near post.
However, Napoli’s lead would be short-lived as the hosts would hit back just five minutes later. Bonaventura unleashed an unstoppable strike from the edge of the area to bring Milan back on level terms.
Napoli had a chance of their own as Jose Callejon broke on the counterattack. But the Spaniard sliced his shot well wide.
On the other end, Napoli very nearly avoided disaster when Elseid Hysaj inadvertently directed an Ante Rebic cross toward his own net. Thankfully for the visitors, Hysaj’s faulty touch only resulted in a corner instead of an own goal.
Rebic then got on the end of a cross just before half-time. But the Croatian was unable to generate any clean contact on his header. Bonaventura then had a shot saved by Meret during first-half stoppage time.
But just seconds later, Napoli very nearly went into half-time with the lead. Insigne beat the Milan offside trap and found himself one-on-one with Donnarumma. The young Milan keeper stood tall and saved the Napoli captain’s shot.
Insigne would have another chance to put Napoli in front on 58 minutes, but he was unable to hit the target.
Napoli had a penalty shout on 69 minutes after Eljif Elmas went to ground as Donnarumma came to close him down. But the replay clearly showed that Elmas had dived, which was why he was shown a yellow card by the referee.
Neither club could muster much of anything in the final 20 minutes as they were left to settle for a rather disappointing stalemate.
Key statistics
Despite Milan’s early pressure, Napoli still finished with the edge in possession, 53 per cent to 47. The total shots were almost equal, with Milan finishing with 13 and Napoli on 12. But the visitors had five shots on goal to Milan’s three.
Piatek led the way for Milan with four shots. But the struggling striker was unable to find the target in any of them as he continues to search for last season’s form, where he finished third in the league with 22 goals.
Meanwhile, Insigne also had four shots (one on target) for Napoli before being subbed off for Amin Younes in the 65th minute.
What’s next?
For Milan, they will play their next two Serie A matches away from home. First, they take on Parma next week. Then, they travel to Bologna, where the Serie A 2019 betting odds should have them favoured significantly against the current 15th-placed side.
As for Napoli, they have a date with defending European champions Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League. Napoli currently trail the Reds by a point for the Group E lead, so an away victory would put them in the driver’s seat to win the group.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
