AC Milan laid down a serious title marker on Sunday with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Napoli at the San Siro, a result that lifted them to the top of Serie A despite playing the final half-hour with 10 men.
Christian Pulisic was the star of the show, setting up Alexis Saelemaekers for Milan’s opener inside three minutes before doubling the lead just after the half-hour mark. The American forward’s dazzling display, capped with his sixth goal of the season across all competitions, left fans on their feet applauding when he was substituted in the second half.
Milan’s momentum was halted when Pervis Estupinan was shown a red card for denying Giovanni Di Lorenzo a clear scoring chance. Shortly after, Kevin De Bruyne calmly converted the resulting penalty to drag Napoli back into the game.
With Antonio Conte’s men pressing hard, Milan were forced to defend deep. The visitors came agonisingly close in stoppage time when David Neres’ deflected effort clipped the woodwork, but Milan held firm to secure their fourth consecutive league win.
The victory puts Milan on 12 points, edging ahead of both Napoli and Roma on goal difference. Roma had earlier beaten Verona 2-0 in Rome, with Artem Dovbyk and Matias Soule getting on the scoresheet to keep their own title challenge alive.
Elsewhere, Pisa missed out on a first Serie A win in over 30 years after VAR ruled out Henrik Meister’s strike in a goalless draw with Fiorentina. Lecce teenager Francesco Camarda, on loan from Milan, scored his first Serie A goal at just 17 years old to snatch a late 2-2 draw against Bologna.
Napoli, meanwhile, will look to regroup quickly as they prepare to face Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.
What you should know
Christian Pulisic inspired AC Milan to a 2-1 win over Napoli, scoring and assisting before being subbed off to a standing ovation.
Despite going down to 10 men, Milan held on for a fourth straight victory to move top of Serie A on goal difference. Napoli’s late pressure wasn’t enough, while Roma also kept pace in the title race.
