Napoli kept the pressure on Serie A leaders Inter Milan with a 2-1 victory over AC Milan on Sunday, remaining just three points behind in the hunt for the Scudetto.
Matteo Politano gave the hosts the lead in the first minute with a powerful low shot, and Romelu Lukaku added a second in the 19th minute, marking his 400th career goal. These early strikes were enough to secure all three points for Napoli, as Milan struggled to break down their defence.
Napoli’s victory is crucial as they have just one challenging match remaining in their final eight league games—a trip to fourth-placed Bologna next week.
Unlike Inter, who are also juggling European commitments, Napoli can focus solely on winning their second Serie A title in three years.
Milan, who were without Ruben Loftus-Cheek due to acute appendicitis, were lackluster in the first half but showed signs of life after halftime with the introductions of Rafael Leao and Santiago Gimenez.
Gimenez missed a penalty in the 69th minute, as Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret denied his low shot, and Luka Jovic’s goal in the 84th minute came too late to spark a full comeback. Milan remain ninth, nine points adrift of the Champions League spots.
Milan now faces Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final on Wednesday, followed by a visit from Fiorentina next weekend, with their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
“We were too slow to get into the game; the first pass they sent forward led to their first goal,” said Milan coach Sergio Conceicao.
“It wasn’t the opening 20 minutes we prepared… we fixed some things in the second half and created lots of chances. I think a draw would have been a fair result.”
Inter Milan extended their winning streak to three games with a 2-1 win over Udinese, but coach Simone Inzaghi was frustrated by his team’s performance after they nearly squandered their lead.
Goals from Marko Arnautovic and Davide Frattesi gave Inter a two-goal cushion by halftime, but a powerful shot from Udinese’s Oumar Solet in the 71st minute made the final minutes tense for the Nerazzurri.
Inter now face a crucial month with a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, along with tough Serie A matches against Bologna and Roma.
Meanwhile, Atalanta’s slim hopes of winning the Serie A title were effectively dashed after a 1-0 loss to Fiorentina. Moise Kean’s first-half strike gave the hosts the win, leaving Atalanta nine points off the top with eight games remaining.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini expressed frustration with his team’s performance, admitting they lacked the dynamism to trouble Fiorentina.
“We lacked the dynamism and energy to give Fiorentina any difficulty… we just have to put it behind us and look ahead,” said Gasperini.
Other Results:
Cagliari strengthened their bid for survival with a 3-0 win over rock-bottom Monza, moving six points clear of the relegation zone.
