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Napoli secured a crucial 2-1 victory over AC Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to move three points off the top of Serie A.
First-half goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku proved to be enough for Antonio Conte’s side, despite Luka Jovic’s late strike giving the Rossoneri hope.
Conte could not have asked for a better start, with his team finding the net just two minutes into the game. Giovanni Di Lorenzo surged forward from his right-back position and delivered a pass to Politano, who timed his run perfectly before finishing past Mike Maignan.
Milan, struggling to respond, found themselves further behind in the 19th minute. Billy Gilmour showcased his vision with a superb defense-splitting pass to Lukaku, who showed great composure to lift the ball over Maignan and double Napoli’s advantage.
The visitors made changes at half-time, with Rafael Leao coming on in an attempt to spark their attack. The move paid dividends as Milan began to create chances.
Their best opportunity arrived in the 69th minute when Leao combined with Theo Hernandez, drawing a foul in the penalty area from Philip Billing. Santiago Gimenez stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Alex Meret produced a stunning save to keep Napoli’s two-goal lead intact.
⏹️ Full time: #NapoliMilan 2-1
💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/MC0yovytJk
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) March 30, 2025
Milan refused to back down and finally found a breakthrough in the 84th minute. Hernandez, influential down the left flank, delivered a low cross into the six-yard box, where Jovic reacted quickest to steer the ball into the net.
As the match entered stoppage time, Milan continued to threaten. Leao was heavily involved, drawing a foul from Di Lorenzo in a dangerous position, but the resulting free-kick was well defended.
Chukwueze had a late shot blocked, and despite outproducing their opponents in expected goals (2.69 to 0.96), Milan could not find the crucial second goal.
The victory ensures Napoli remain in second place in Serie A, Milan, meanwhile, stay in ninth and will quickly have to shift their focus to their Coppa Italia semi-final clash against Inter on Wednesday before a league encounter with Fiorentina on Saturday.
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