Napoli Player Ratings vs Milan: Meret Keeps Partenopei in Scudetto Race | OneFootball

Napoli re-established a three-point deficit to Serie A leaders Inter with a crucial 2-1 home victory against out-of-sorts Milan. Antonio Conte’s side decided the game already in the first half, but the visitors nearly pulled off a comeback after the break.

A copy-paste scenario from October’s reverse fixture at the San Siro saw Napoli grab an early lead. Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s simple ball over the top found its way to Matteo Politano, who took it nicely and riffled home an inch-perfect half-volley to put the hosts 1-0 up after just two minutes.

Only 17 minutes later, Romelu Lukaku doubled the home side’s lead. Billy Gilmour set the Belgian striker on a platter. Despite a scrappy finish, the ex-Inter star put the ball past Mike Maignan to establish a two-goal cushion at halftime.

Though Napoli had Milan on the ropes in the opening 45 minutes, things changed after the break. However, Santiago Gimenez wasted a glorious chance to bring the Rossoneri back into the game as Alex Meret thwarted his poorly-taken penalty midway through the second half.

However, Milan cut Napoli’s lead by half through second-half substitute Luka Jovic. Fortunately for the Partenopei, Sergio Conceicao’s side didn’t have enough time on the clock to draw level.

Without further ado, let’s look at our Napoli ratings.

Napoli (4-3-3)

Alex Meret – 7.5

In addition to saving Gimenez’s shot from the spot, Meret made two more crucial saves to help Napoli scoop up three precious points.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 7

Back to his favorable position, the Partenopei captain enjoyed a superb game. An early assist filled him with confidence for the rest of the encounter.

Alessandro Buongiorno – 6.5

After a dismal performance against Germany, the Italian center-back returned to his usual best to make light work of Tammy Abraham.

Amir Rrahmani – 7

The Kosovo international imposed himself as a dominant figure in the box, winning countless aerial duels while keeping his tackles clean.

Mathias Olivera – 6.5

Despite failing to contribute much to Napoli’s attacking play, the Uruguayan held up his end of the deal at the back, making Christian Pulisic an irrelevant figure.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa – 6.5

Conte had to take him off in the second half due to a minor fitness issue, but the Cameroonian midfielder massively contributed to Napoli’s dominant first-half performance.

Billy Gilmour – 7

His moment of brilliance swayed the game in Napoli’s favor as he demonstrated outstanding vision and technique to set up Lukaku for the second goal.

Stanislav Lobotka – 6.5

It was a typical ‘Lobotka’ display. Calm and collected on the ball but reluctant to take risks moving forward, the Slovakian fared reasonably well before halftime.

Matteo Politano – 7.5

The diminutive winger was a point of difference tonight. He netted an all-important opener and put the Milan backline through a world of trouble.

David Neres – 6

It felt like the lengthy spell on the sidelines took its toll on the Brazilian forward, as he barely influenced proceedings.

Romelu Lukaku – 6.5

He was lucky to see his sloppy shot end up in the back of the net. However, he gave his markers a run for their money.

Substitutes

Philip Billing – 5

Juan Jesus – 5.5