October 30, (THEWILL) – In a thrilling Serie A encounter on Sunday, AC Milan were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at home to Napoli despite taking a two-goal lead, thanks to an Olivier Giroud first-half brace.
The veteran Frenchman headed Milan in front twice in the opening period but Napoli showed great spirit to fight back in the second half through stunning strikes from Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori.
Milan, desperate for a confidence-boosting victory after recent defeats, made a bright start and went ahead on 22 minutes when Giroud timed his run perfectly to glance in a header from a Christian Pulisic cross. The Frenchman doubled Milan’s advantage 10 minutes later, holding off his marker to nod in a second header.
Napoli emerged rejuvenated for the second period and were quickly back in it courtesy of a sensational Politano solo effort on 50 minutes. The winger cut inside and hammered an angled drive into the roof of the net. The visitors pushed for an equaliser and got it through a superb Raspadori free kick on 63 minutes, which curled into the bottom corner.
Both sides had late chances to win it but were forced to settle for a share of the spoils. Mike Maignan preserved the draw with a point-blank save for Napoli. Milan will feel they missed an opportunity to claim a much-needed victory and the draw leaves Milan and Napoli third and fourth on the Serie A table, respectively.
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.
