The second and third in the table, Milan and Napoli, take the field hoping to still have a chance of troubling the league leaders, despite the mutual disappointment of having let Inter run away with a +10-point lead.
First Half: A Cosmic Void
The first half is practically devoid of dangerous chances. The hosts hold possession, but without central reference points due to the absences of Lukaku and Hojlund, they fail to set up any meaningful attacking play. The Rossoneri, for their part, defend and counter sporadically, but effectively without results. The teams stretch and compress continuously, without a single shot on target. The only noteworthy moments of this first half are a breathtaking piece of play by Modric, with a double slalom through Napoli’s defence, and some interesting vertical passes, including one from Fofana that sends Nkunku one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only for him to fire over.
Second Half: Politano Punishes a Ghost-like Milan
In the second half, Napoli raise the tempo, immediately showing a very different intensity compared to Milan, with Maignan starting to warm his gloves. But when all is said and done, the match never takes off and remains deadlocked: there are no noteworthy actions or clear-cut chances. All of this, until Politano’s goal, born from a sudden flash and a general carelessness in Milan’s rearguard, with De Winter blindly clearing a ball and Athekame and Fofana failing to close down Olivera‘s cross. The visitors, after this sudden flash, try to establish themselves in the opposition half, but without any notable reactions. Not a single real attempt towards Milinkovic-Savic’s goal, an unmistakable sign of an utterly invisible performance.
And so ends a dull match, with a total number of chances that can be counted on one hand, and one that, due to its sheer mediocrity, will soon be forgotten.
📋 Player Ratings
Maignan: 6. Ready when needed, but could do nothing about the goal.
Tomori: 6. Slightly more adventurous in his new role, but ultimately ineffective. Solid at the back.
De Winter: 5. Somehow limits the damage from Spinazzola on that flank, but then commits a terrible blunder on Napoli’s goal.
Pavlovic: 6. Solid, blocks Giovane’s run towards goal in the first half. Not the main culprit for the goal.
Bartesaghi: 6. Not particularly adventurous, but doesn’t make any significant mistakes.
Rabiot: 6. Dynamic and proactive, gives an extra gear to the moves he’s involved in. Fades in the second half and ultimately fails to make an impact.
Modric: 6.5. Beautiful skills to watch, but in the end they led to nothing.
Fofana: 5.5. Recoveries and vertical passing are his hallmark in the first half, but he drops off in the second, allowing Olivera to deliver the cross for the goal.
Saelemaekers: 6. Nothing noteworthy.
Nkunku: 5.5. Wasteful both in front of goal and in providing for his teammates.
Fullkrug: 5.5. As usual, he almost seems absent from the pitch, unable to control the balls played to him.
⬆️ Substitutes
Athekame: 5.5. Proactive but ineffective. On the goal, he lets Olivera cross without intervening.
Gimenez: 5.5. Only noticed for a headed effort over the bar.
Leao, Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek: N/R.
Manager Allegri: 5. No performance and no result.
