Home » Not just second place: Napoli-Milan is a battle between Serie A’s best managers
Conte and Allegri ahead of Napoli-Milan

Not just second place: Napoli-Milan is a battle between Serie A’s best managers

Photos by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images and Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

AC Milan’s clash against Napoli won’t just be a battle for second place, but also a tactical battle between the league’s best managers. 

Thanks to their win against Torino last time out, Milan reclaimed second place and also restored the one-point advantage over Napoli. The joy could be short-lived, though, as tonight’s game will be decisive for the standings.


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Inter now have a firm grip on the Scudetto, following their 5-2 win against Roma last night, but Milan still need to put pressure on their rivals. Furthermore, finishing below second after such a strong season (all things considered) would be a great shame.

Best managers in the league

Due to the international break, the two managers Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte have had quite a lot of time to think about their encounter. Of course, many players were out on international duty and thus weren’t available, but that also left more time to work on the tactics.

In other games, you might not give so much weight to the tactical solutions of the managers, but in this one, you simply have to. We are talking about two of the top five managers in the league’s history (!), with Allegri at six Scudetti and Conte at five.

It doesn’t look like any of them will increase their tally this season, as alluded to, but the numbers still say a lot about the quality. In turn, you could argue that this is the most exciting tactical battle of the season, even if some love to watch Cesc Fabregas and Como highlights…

Going back to the reverse fixture, which Milan won by two goals to one, it was a rather entertaining one. The Rossoneri scored twice in the first half but after a red card in the second, Napoli pulled one back. Then, the woodwork rescued Allegri’s men.

Nevertheless, Allegri came out on top in that one and the goal is to flex his muscles tonight as well, although Conte will surely be eager to get his revenge.

Tags AC Milan Antonio Conte Massimiliano Allegri Napoli-Milan
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