Theo Hernandez knocks out Napoli, Milan mortgages the Champions League

Theo Hernandez knocks out Napoli, Milan moves to -1 from Juventus

Sixth success in the last seven games for Milan who wins the big match at the 'Meazza' with Napoli beaten 1-0 thanks to a goal by Theo Hernandez assisted by Leao in the 25th minute'. The Rossoneri rise to 52 in the standings, just one point behind second-placed Juventus and eight behind leaders Inter. Heavy knockout for the Azzurri who are ninth in the standings, 7 points behind 4th place Atalanta.

Milan-Napoli 1-0, Theo Hernandez's goal decides. The news

The first scoring opportunity of the match came in the 10th minute thanks to the guests. Kvaratskhelia on the right with a lightning strike finds space for the cross aimed at the center, Simeone arrives promptly for the first turn at the near post but misses the target. In the 24th minute Juan Jesus sensationally missed an opening, serving Leao who can start the counterattack by throwing Pulisic deep, but the measurement of the Portuguese's pass is wrong. A minute later, Leao makes amends, this time his deep touch is perfect, Theo launches himself into the area and in front of Gollini the Rossoneri full-back makes no mistake: 1-0.

In the 27th minute Leao immediately came close to doubling the lead: right-footed shot from the edge and Gollini who makes a great intervention saving his goal. In the 36th minute Calabria was forced off due to a muscle problemand, in his place, Florenzi, while Theo takes the captaincy. Just before the break Kvaratskhelia lights up and he jumps first Kjaer and then Bennacer on the left out and reaches the back for the cross in tow in the middle of the area, Adli manages to clear.

At the start of the second half the Rossoneri were close to doubling their lead. Florenzi blocks from the edge, looks at the goal and shoots: a not irresistible conclusion, except that a deflection almost deceives Gollini, who keeps it there, preventing the ball from passing between his legs, then takes it away from Giroud's foot who was lurking. In the 5th minute Theo was stopped by Lobotka on the restart, who immediately reverses the action by serving Politano. The Napoli striker cuts towards the center from the right and finishes by looking for the near post: the ball goes wide. In the 8th minute there was a good plot on the edge of the Milan area, with Adli combining with Bennacer, sending him to shoot: diagonal shot that ends up wide. A few seconds later Leao also tries, with a counterattack, from the edge but a conclusion that ends very high.

In the 10th minute, a bad mistake by Bennacer, who with an attempted vertical pass across the midfield serves Simeone, Cholito shoots but misses the target. Shortly afterwards Simeone is replaced by Raspadori. In the 13th minute, Milan on the counterattack, on the edge of the Napoli area, Lobotka intercepted, stopping Leao and with a great throw he reversed the action, feeding Kvaratskhelia on the left. The Georgian aims for Kjaer, who makes the first move looking for an early intervention and finds himself on the ground, clearly jumped. The Georgian gets to the back and tries a second dribble to return towards the goal, but Florenzi closes him in the corner. In the quarter of an hour Politano's left turn from his plate, on the right, and the ball goes out just a little.

In the 22nd minute Napoli are still ahead with Politano catching Mazzocchi in the area, che puts a great ball into the centre, on the fly, from the first left, Raspadori anticipates it by a whisker and the action fades away. In the 25th minute Musah opened the ball and widened to the left for Leao. The Portuguese comes back on the right and looks for an inside shot to the long post, the ball goes just wide. In the 34th minute Lindstrom and Olivera on the left exchange well in the area. The ball was then put in the middle for Politano, who was blocked at the moment of the shot in the heart of the area. In the 38th minute Anguissa tries from outsideright low shot hard and not out by much. In the 44th minute Lindstrom puts it in the center from the left with a delightful touch of exterior, Di Lorenzo is preceded by Simic who comes close to scoring an own goal with a sensational self-pole. It's the last thrill of the match which ends without any other emotions after six minutes of injury time.

Milan, Pioli: “For a month and a half we have been traveling at Inter's speed”

“Certainly in the last month and a half we have been traveling almost at the same speed as Inter. We will try until the end. Now we will also have to think about the Europa League. It won't be easy against Rennes: I expect a difficult match, it's a team that's in good shape physically and mentally.” explains Milan coach Stefano Pioli to Dazn after the 1-0 victory over Napoli. On the improvements highlighted by the team: “We needed to work in the defensive phase, against a team that has great quality. These are important situations. In recent weeks I have had many conversations with our players about the attitude in the defensive phase. We needed to stay more compact. Tonight it was a Milan balanced and orderly, who won without conceding a goal. Now we have to look to the next one”, the analysis of the Rossoneri coach on Dazn. On Theo Hernandez: “He was willing to look for a central defender but the left wing with the quality and pace he has is of an absolute level. His problem was on a mental level, last year he was still disappointed by the defeat in the World Cup final. The matches to central defender helped him stay more focused.” On the conditions of Bennacer and Calabria: “Davide had an adductor problem which will be evaluated in the next few days. Bennacer was just tired, returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. Thiaw will be back in the next few days.”