AC Milan vs. Napoli Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

The last time Napoli beat Milan at the San Siro was in 1986, when a Paolo Maldini own goal and a Diego Maradona strike ensured the Partenopei an unlikely victory in Milan.

Napoli has since not been able to get all three points at the San Siro until they met them in Round 4 this season.

A 2-1 victory Sunday for the visiting side means they're now at the top of the Serie A table with 12 points. Meanwhile, Milan are near the relegation zone with a measly four points total picked up in four matchdays.

The irony is that Milan could have done so much more with their chances, while in previous matches this season they've gotten lucky with the few chances that fell their way. Against Napoli, Mario Balotelli hit the woodwork, missed a penalty and finally curled in a fantastic effort in the dying seconds.

On top of this, a penalty was denied to Andrea Poli, and Rossoneri fans had to exit the stadium with a bitter taste in their mouth.

After surviving Napoli's onslaught which cooled off after 15 minutes, the game went back and forth, as chances for both teams weren't capitalized until Christian Abbiati made a massive blunder on a missile struck from Gonzalo Higuain.

The main story on the night wasn't so much about Napoli's victory as it was about Balotelli's brilliance.

Finally, Super Mario showed what he's capable of when he gives a full effort. His signature brooding was replaced by 90 minutes of hard work and plenty of running. He set up teammates and created plenty of chances for himself. Mario Balotelli arguably played his best game in a Milan uniform.

Without further ado, let's move on to the player grades:

NOTE: Grades are handed out on a school-like basis, with F=Failure, D=Poor, C=Average, B=Good, A=Excellent.

MILAN

D+ = Christian Abbiati. Had to do way better against Higuain's shot that led to the goal.

C- = Philippe Mexes. Terrible marking in the first 15 minutes. Embarrassing when coming forward.

D+ = Christian Zapata. Nervous in possession but nearly made a few catastrophic mistakes.

C = Ignazio Abate. Speedy going forward, but allowed Lorenzo Insigne a bit of room down the right flank.

D- = Sulley Muntari. Plenty of running but poor coming forward. Atrocious passing. 

C+ = Valter Birsa. Looked quite decent first half, but was taken off too early.

C = Andrea Poli. Plenty of energy but not influential enough in possession.

C- = Urby Emanuelson. Was forced to defend more than he would have liked.

B = Nigel De Jong. Made a few important slide tackles an interceptions. Feisty.

A+ = Mario Balotelli. Stellar throughout. Plenty of running and could have scored a hat trick. Composed and creative.

F = Alessandro Matri. Soft, but shouldn't have pulled out of challenge in 1v1 situation against Pepe Reina. Clumsy with the first touch.

NAPOLI

A+ = Pepe Reina. Fantastic duel with Mario Balotelli, who missed his first-ever penalty. Incredible reaction saves.

C+ = Miguel Britos. Should have been red-carded for reckless challenge on Balotelli. Scored the header that gave Napoli their opening goal.

C = Raul Albiol. His clumsy challenge gave Milan the penalty.

C+ = Giandomenico Mesto. Plenty of running down the flank. Bottled up Emanuelson whenever possible.

C+ = Marek Hamsik. Considering how he has played this season, this was his most quiet match.

B- = Juan Zuniga. Perhaps came forward too much as Abate had plenty of space to make runs forward, but solid overall.

B = Blerim Dzemaili. The Swiss international did exactly what he was supposed to do in his defensive midfield role. Quick, tidy passes to the forwards to spearhead the counterattack.

A- = Valon Behrami. A hard-nosed effort once again. Provided the steel in front of the back line to stop Milan's attacks.

B+ = Jose Callejon. Plenty of running and good movement, but impressed the most with his quality free-kicks into the box.

A- = Gonzalo Higuain. Was quiet in stretches despite scoring Napoli's second goal. Great movement to find the gaps in Milan's porous defense.

B+ = Lorenzo Insigne. Tricky on the wing, made some great dink passes over the top of the defense. 

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