NAPLES. Milan beat Maradona with a goal from Giroud and took back the top of the table. The match-scudetto is won by Pioli’s team above all because the Rossoneri coach interprets the game better than Spalletti and blocks Napoli in all areas of the pitch without allowing the Azzurri to create even a scoring opportunity for the entire duration of the match. meeting. More determination, greater concentration and above all a more balanced set-up are the weapons that allow the Rossoneri to win the direct match and to relaunch the fight for primacy with Inter.
Napoli starts giving a great intensity to his game and in the first quarter of an hour constantly maintains the initiative, closing Milan in their own half. Pioli’s team, however, gradually gains more courage and begins to command the actions. The difference between the two teams in this phase of the game consists mainly in the different contribution that the three players called to support the game of the central striker are able to give to the maneuver. On the Napoli side, Politano, Zielinski and Insigne are absent from the game for long stretches, they do not support Osimhen’s in-depth shots and they do not even give a hand to Ruiz and Lobotka in the containment phase. The greater dynamism of Messias, Kessie and Leao, on the opposite side, determine a greater density in the central area of the field and therefore a Rossoneri dominance.
In any case, the game is tactically very blocked and it is difficult for both teams to create scoring chances, so much so that throughout the first half Ospina and Maignan run no risk.
Milan found the goal after just 4 ‘from the start of the second half. A shot from Giroud is deflected just enough to put Ospina out of action. The reaction of Napoli does not arrive or at least not to the extent that it would be necessary to try to recover the parity in the score immediately. Milan covers all areas of the pitch and when the ball is available to the Azzurri, Pioli’s men close all the passing lines with extreme attention and punctuality. Spalletti tries to give freshness and speed to his team’s attacking game by inserting Elmas and Ounas in place of Insigne and Politano and in the final quarter of an hour, Mertens for Ruiz. In the final, the team’s axis moves even further forward with the entry of Lozano. Spalletti’s team increases their offensive pressure but fails to unhinge the Rossoneri’s defense. Milan showed up only on the counterattack and five minutes from the end of the match Hernandez engages Ospina with a powerful and angled shot. The game comes to a close without Spalletti’s team being able to create the conditions to beat Maignan once. AC Milan’s victory is fully deserved, while Napoli’s ambitions are stifled by a match played once again without the character and the competitive spirit that in certain circumstances it is essential to possess.