MILAN: While manager Antonio Conte can no longer ignore talk of a Scudetto title victory, a return to European football remains the primary objective, Serie A leaders Napoli continued their impressive unbeaten run on Tuesday by defeating AC Milan.
After Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the first half to give Napoli a 2-0 victory at the San Siro, they now have a provisional seven-point lead over Inter Milan at the top of the league.
Napoli has not participated in any European competition this season as a result of their disappointing title defense, and Conte is working to rebalance expectations at the club.
“Scudetto? Nobody is stowing away. He stated to DAZN, “We see realistically what we are doing this year.”
“After ten games, it has something amazing and unexpected that no crazy person would have predicted. However, we continue to remain grounded.
We are aware of our objective, which is to travel back to Europe. However, there are at least five or six teams with the same idea. It would be incredible to win in Naples. We have set aside three years for ourselves. It takes time to rebuild something that we are working on.
Conte is aware that it will be difficult to prevent Napoli supporters from envisioning another title win after such an impressive start.
Conte added, “We try to feed the dreams of the fans, but we need to have balance.”
“Even today, our fans continue to follow us with fervor; it is right that they dream. When things go wrong, we need to be ready. We want this team to make Neapolitan fans proud.
Milan were rocked by Lukaku’s fourth goal of the season in the fifth minute. Kvaratskhelia scored a stunning goal for Napoli two minutes before the break to give Napoli a second goal, but Milan couldn’t get back into the game.
With a game in hand, Milan’s third defeat of the season puts them in eighth place, 11 points behind the leaders. However, manager Paulo Fonseca believes that Milan can still win the league.
When asked if the Scudetto remained the goal, Fonseca was clearly not giving up at this point in the season. Milan was hampered by the absence of several players, including Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders, who were both suspended.
I cannot say the contrary. Fonseca stated to DAZN, “especially seeing how we played, how the team responded to a difficult moment, and how it showed unity even though we didn’t have important players.”
“We must continue on the path of growth because no team has won the league after nine games and no team has lost it after nine games. It’s clear that before we enter this fight, we need results.
After Milan’s Saturday match at Bologna was postponed due to safety concerns over flooding, the younger team entered the game, but Napoli got off to a flying start.
After an Andre Anguissa pass found Lukaku between two defenders, the visitors scored first. The striker took the ball into the area and smashed a low shot into the far bottom corner after easily evading Strahinja Pavlovic.
In a five-minute stretch, Milan had three chances for an equalizer. Yunus Musah and Emerson Royal both missed the target, and Samuel Chukwueze’s long-range shot was saved by Napoli keeper Alex Meret.
After Kvaratskhelia cut inside from the left, found space, and fired from outside the area with a beautiful bending shot that deflected off Mike Maignan despite Milan’s best efforts, Milan went into the break with a further goal down.
Alvaro Morata thought he had scored a goal early in the second half when he rose high and headed a glancing header past Meret. However, the Spanish striker was ineligible when Chukwueze’s cross hit him.
The hosts kept trying to get back into the game, but Meret made a great reflex save to deny Rafael Leao in the 83rd minute to keep Napoli’s two-goal advantage.
Riccardo Orsolini and Jens Odgaard scored in each half to propel Bologna’s 2-0 victory over Cagliari to 10th place in the table.
With a goal from Patrick Dorgu in the 51st minute, Lecce beat nine-man Verona 1-0 to move up the table.
Jackson Tchatchoua was sent off for the away team five minutes before halftime, and Reda Belahyane was sent off for a second bookable offense in the final ten minutes.
