AC Milan put in undoubtedly their best performance of the season right when they needed it most as they beat runaway league leaders Napoli 4-0.
The first half showing was what set the tone as Rafael Leao opened the scoring with a delightful chip after some excellent work from Brahim Diaz, and the Spaniard got his name on the scoresheet with a finish from close range.
Two more goals came in the second half as Leao got his second of the night after a lovely dribble and powerful shot that almost went through Meret, and then Alexis Saelemaekers got a goal off the bench after a Messi-esque dribble.
The result is absolutely huge in the scheme of Milan’s season given the poor form leading up to the game, and with Roma, Lazio, Juventus and Atalanta all winning it was imperative to produce a response that was emphatic.
Stefano Pioli chose to make some big changes to the starting line-up as he reverted to a four-man defence, with Davide Calabria coming in at right-back and Simon Kjaer partnering Fikayo Tomori with Malick Thiaw benched and Pierre Kalulu injured. Brahim Diaz started on the right side of the attack and Rade Krunic was the playmaker.
The first big chance of the night went to Milan as they made early inroads down the left side. Theo Hernandez sprinted to the byline and cut the ball back to Brahim Diaz, whose first time shot from just behind the penalty spot was saved by Meret.
The home side hit back with a chance of their own as Zielinski angled a low ball into the box where Simeone had got ahead of Tomori with a run, but his left-footed shot blazed over the bar.
In the 17th minute, it was Milan who took the lead thanks to a brilliant bit of work on the right side by Brahim Diaz. The Spaniard beat his man right on the touchline with an excellent dribble and put Leao through on goal, with the Portuguese winger ending his goal drought with a lovely dinked finish.
Eight minutes after the opening goal, Milan were in dreamland as they doubled their advantage. An attack down the left side again saw Bennacer cross for Giroud who glanced it into the path of Brahim Diaz who took a touch, evaded Mario Rui’s challenge and finished via a deflection.
Napoli began their mission to get back into the game, and Maignan made his first real save of the night to thwart a shot from distance by Lobotka that bounced right in front of him.
Brahim Diaz was having one of those nights where everything seemed to be falling for him, and he forced a fingertip save from Meret with Napoli players fuming after Politano went down after an arm in the face from Leao.
The final chance of the first half went to the Partenopei as Kvaratskhelia ran down Milan’s right on the counter and cut back to Zielinski after a nice dummy from the referee, though the Pole saw his shot parried by Maignan.
Milan nearly made it 3-0 five minutes into the second half as they worked a counter-attack down the left side that saw Giroud found in space inside the box, yet he dragged his effort just wide of the far post when it seemed destined to nestle in.
Maignan went down holding his face just before the hour mark after a shot from Mario Rui deep inside the box caught him right on the nose, and moments later Alexis Saelemaekers came on for Brahim Diaz in the first change.
Right on the hour mark, Milan got their third goal and Leao got his second of the night. Tonali won the ball back in midfield and found the Portuguese wide on the left, and he dragged the ball back onto his left foot before firing past Meret with a venomous hit.
The travelling support could hardly believe their eyes in the 67th minute when Saelemaekers picked up the ball around 25 yards out and began a weaving run into the box that saw him get past three defenders before finishing under Meret to make it 4-0.
Milan nearly got caught with too many men forward as a corner was cleared and Napoli launched a threatening counter that saw Raspadori beat Calabria to get in behind, but he dragged his shot wide when the square was possibly on.
Saelemaekers was playing like a man possessed and he wasn’t far from adding a fifth goal for Milan with a rocket of a shot from the edge of the box that Meret saved. Shortly prior to that, Divock Origi, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Charles De Ketelaere came on.
Wow what a tactical masterpiece by Pioli. Putting Bennacer in the ‘no. 10’ position with Kessie-esque role was vital. He put all the pressure on the first line of Napoli’s mid. That changed the flow of the entire game right from the start. We need this kind of novelty by Pioli.
Not really surprised with Diaz performance. He’s been a few of Milan players this season who’s able to keep average – above average form. Why do you think Madrid want him back? The only one who can’t see the good side of him is sadly Milan fans (not all though). Now let’s hope there’s nothing serious about his discomfort on this match. And let’s hope Napoli have a mental break down, especially in the UCL.
can’t agree more
Vi vogliamo cosí !!!! SEMPRE
I am too paranoid to have any real expectation for the Champions League matches.
Remember Osimhen didn’t play against Milan in the first leg and we still lost.
This match made me really happy. Everyone was playing to their death. Salad won’t fall.
what a performance. Thats whats so frustrating this season. They can play so much better when they want to. Hope this win gives them the boost they need to finish the season on a high note
4-2-3-1 and Leao out wide left. End of story. If Pioli goes back to the 3-4-2-1 I will join the #PioliOut club.
The other confirmation is that was should only have one of Tomori or Kalulu as the CB pairing in a back 4, not both. They are too similar in style, mentality and physique. They need to be complemented by taller, less aggressive and more tactically aware partners.
Hopefully this is the boost that we need to finish the season strong, Forza Milan!
Amazing performance by everyone. Why don’t we play like this most of the time? We have the ability to beat Napoli, Inter, Juventus, Spurs, but then we lose to Udinese, Sassuolo, Torino. Can someone explain?
Napoli, inter, juve, spurs want and need wins. Therefore, they attack. Bottom teams are happy to leave with draws and don’t. We play much better against teams who are open, and are poor against teams who park the bus. Basically, we defend well, attack above average, but counterattack amazingly.
From Diaz to Tonali to Alexis to the rest of the team and except Bakayoko, they did so so well….. Bakayoko is terrible that’s why he rots on the bench. Forza MILAN!!❤️🖤
And some people think Ziyech is an upgrade to Saelemaekers lmao…
Lol
They probably don’t know Ziyech is basically as good and can be as headless chicken as Salad. Only Salad is 23 and can still learn.
Yeah but this is salads first serie a goal since 2021.
He can improve, but those are awful winger numbers.
Saelemaekers doesn’t look like he has the task to move towards goal like Leao. He clearly drops back way more often, which is also his strength.
Either way, Salad in 2022-2023 season is first time he is being very useful consistently and mostly in defense. Pioli clearly got him to play more simple. If only he didn’t kick so predictably most of the time.
awesome!!! proud for the boys. amazing performance
Saele? SAELE? What on earth was that? Did Pioli finally unlock Saele?
Here’s the thing.. the current Napoli defense is literally best in Serie A .. and for Saele to just walk in that casually through that defense over and over again… shows just HOW good he is in tight spaces. All he had to do was improve his decision making after his dribbles and goddamn… JUST look at how insanely good he can be only if he places the ball in the right place after his dribbles. He created 3 insane chances that should’ve been a goal.
GOOD JOB Saele. Very well done.
Good to see Leao back.
Nothing much to say about Pioli’s tactics because it was just our usual 4231. But I would say using bennacer as 10 worked.
BTW… Krava Who? Lol Calabria showed his absolute class!
I have said it before.. The only reason Krava, Anguissa, Lozano and co looks like a beast is OSIMHEN. That’s the power of a world-class Striker who can keep a whole defense busy all by himself, allowing others to become more useful making them look like a beast overflowing with confidence. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good.. but they look much better with Osimhen in the team.
Now.. the Reality… In the UCL semis, Napoli will come up with a completely different tactic. They are gonna try using our weakness and build up on it… which is Midfield. Yes Saele played a superhuman game.. but our CDMs were completely useless… Napoli completely dominated the midfield, launching attack after attack … That needs to be stopped. Otherwise… we would be in trouble. I really hope this game sends Napoli to a backfoot mentality wise. At least we now know we have a massive chance of reaching UCL Semis because Napoli without Osimhen is VERY MUCH BEATABLE.
Forza Milan.
Maybe all Calabria needed was a prolonged break and some motivation that he is not indispensible?
He looked faster, but also made better decisions.
Thank you, Milan. That was such a great game. Now can we have 9 such matches for the rest of Serie A rounds this season please? And add some cream to it by giving Napoli a hard time in UCL!
Forza Milan.