February 12, (THEWILL) – AC Milan kept their Scudetto dreams alive on Sunday, with a narrow 1-0 victory at home, against reigning Serie A champions Napoli. The win extends Milan’s unbeaten league run to 9 matches and moves them to within eight points of city rivals and league leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.
In his 220th match as Milan manager, Stefano Pioli equalled club legend Arrigo Sacchi’s tenure at the helm. Despite an early scare that saw Khvicha Kvaratskhelia set up Giovanni Simeone for a chance that went just wide, Milan soon clicked into gear. A beautifully lofted ball from Rafael Leão found Theo Hernández, who controlled neatly before firing home clinically.
After the goal, Milan found their rhythm with Leão forcing a good save from Pierluigi Gollini. However, the first half ended on a slight downer with captain Davide Calabria withdrawing through injury. Just after the break, Gollini nearly gifted Milan a second but managed to recover before Olivier Giroud could pounce.
The second half saw chances at both ends with Matteo Politano and Simeone coming close for Napoli while Leão was denied by Gollini late on. Jesper Lindstrøm almost equalised when his cross cannoned back off the post. In the end, Milan did enough to scale past Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli.
While not a dominant display, the hard-fought win keeps belief strong in the red and black half of Milan that they remain within reach of Scudetto number 20.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
