Italian champions Napoli continued their slump with a 0-1 defeat away to Milan in round 24, dropping them to ninth place in Serie A.
The only goal came in the 25th minute, when Rafael Leao played a through pass to Theo Hernandez, who burst into the penalty area and fired a left-footed shot into the near corner, beating goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. With four goals, Hernandez is the highest-scoring defender at home in the top five European leagues this season, level with Jeremie Frimpong of Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Milan defender Theo Hernandez clears the ball during their 1-0 victory over Napoli in Serie A Round 24 at the San Siro on February 11, 2024. Photo: AFP
This result helped Milan end their winless streak against Napoli at home in Serie A since December 2014, with three consecutive defeats in their last three matches. The two teams previously met in the Champions League quarter-finals last season, with Milan winning 1-0 at home to advance with an aggregate score of 2-1.
Milan are firmly in third place with 52 points, the same number of points they had after 24 rounds in the 2021-2022 championship season. The only difference is that Inter and Juventus have both performed better this season, with 60 and 53 points respectively.
"I don't know if this is the best performance Milan can achieve," coach Stefano Pioli stated. "We've played well over the last month and a half, almost on par with Inter, who are having an incredible season. There's no point in looking back; we have to move forward, trying to compete in both Serie A and the Europa League. That won't be easy because our fitness will be affected."
At San Siro yesterday, Napoli played reasonably well, even creating more dangerous opportunities. However, striker Giovanni Simeone was unlucky, hitting the post with a close-range one-touch shot in the 10th minute and curling over the crossbar from just outside the penalty area in the second half. The visitors also hit the woodwork on another occasion when Jesper Lindstrom's cross deflected off Jan Simic's foot and hit the crossbar.
Napoli striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (left) challenges AC Milan defender Alessandro Florenzi during a Serie A match at San Siro, Milan, on February 11. Photo: AP
The squandering of opportunities led to Napoli's eighth consecutive defeat and a drop to ninth place in Serie A with 35 points, seven points behind fourth-placed Atalanta. Coach Walter Mazzarri stated that Napoli's goal is to win as many matches as possible and compete for fourth place.
Against Milan, Napoli started with a five-man defense before switching to a 4-3-3 in the second half with the introduction of Matteo Politano. "I don't think the change in system was the key to playing better in the second half, we simply did better," Mazzarri said about the team's tactics. "Milan pressed hard in the first half and played deeper in the second. Napoli played well, but could have done better to take full advantage of their fatigue."
Hong Duy
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