Serie A | Napoli 1-0 Milan: Politano picks new Scudetto challenger
Matteo Politano came off the bench for a late goal to give Napoli victory over Milan, sending them into second place, with Inter’s lead at the top extended to seven points.
This was a crucial crossroads in the campaign, as third hosted second to see who would emerge to challenge leaders Inter.
Rasmus Hojlund was ruled out by a stomach bug, so Giovane was the makeshift centre-forward, because Romelu Lukaku was frozen out for seeking treatment in Belgium, with David Neres, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani and Antonio Vergara injured.
Both Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic were only fit for the bench, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek returning after six weeks out with facial fractures, and Matteo Gabbia a long-term absentee, so Max Allegri launched a new front pairing of Niclas Fullkrug and Christopher Nkunku.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Luka Modric squirmed through a crowd to force Alessandro Buongiorno into a bookable offence, and from that free kick Strahinja Pavlovic nodded inches wide of the near post.
Leonardo Spinazzola dribbled past Youssouf Fofana to bend a finish just wide of the far top corner, with Nkunku failing to keep his finish down when sent clear down the left by Fofana.
Giovane sprinted onto a through ball and was shaping up to shoot when blocked off by Pavlovic, but he forced a big one-handed save out of Mike Maignan with a strike from outside the area after the restart.
Maignan also parried a Kevin De Bruyne effort from the by-line at the near post when sent through by Spinazzola, while Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa nodded wide from a promising position.
The breakthrough came in the final stages, as Mathias Olivera’s cross to the back post was only flicked on with a weak Koni De Winter header, finding Matteo Politano on the volley with the left foot from a tight angle to give Napoli the lead.
That magic left foot
Matteo Politano gives Napoli the lead in a must win game
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Santiago Gimenez saw his header sail just over the bar from a Zachary Athekame cross, while Rafael Leao fired over when going for the same ball as Pulisic.
Napoli 1-0 Milan
Politano 79 (N)
Player statistic
| Alessandro Buongiorno | 12' |
| Matteo Politano |  |
79' | ||
| Matteo Politano |  |
81' |
