AC Milan vs. Napoli: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
The last few rounds of Serie A have seen AC Milan put in some Jekyll-and-Hyde performances.
On Sunday against Napoli, there was no Jekyll, only Hyde.
The Rossoneri were absolutely blown apart on their home turf. So comprehensive was Napoli's 4-0 victory that referee Nicola Rizzoli didn't even add stoppage time in the second half.
It's difficult to narrow Milan's performance down to a few losers out of 11 men, almost all of whom bore the listless look that characterized Filippo Inzaghi's team from a year ago.
But we'll try, as well as point out a few of the big winners from the opposite side, who seem to be kicking into gear after finally adapting to this summer's coaching change.
Who were the big winners and losers of Milan vs. Napoli? Read on to find out.
Winner: Lorenzo Insigne
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A winner for a second week running, Lorenzo Insigne was dominant on the left side of Napoli's attack.
The diminutive Neapolitan assisted on the game's opening goal with a perfect square pass to Allan and then scored the next two in style.
The first came at the best possible time for the Partenopei. Three minutes after coming out of halftime with a 1-0 lead, Insigne played a neat one-two with Gonzalo Higuain to drive a stake into Milan's morale. It was a carbon copy of the goal he scored last week against Juventus and the continuation of a fantastic run that has seen him score five times in his last five league games.
The second was even better—a superb curling free kick from 25 yards out to which Diego Lopez could only get the tips of his fingers.
Insigne caused some concern after his first goal when he fell down in a heap rather than celebrate his goal. He was holding the knee that has given him major problems in the past, but a further look at the replay showed that he had simply been kicked when he and Rodrigo Ely came together while he was taking his shot.
It was an impressive way to celebrate his first Italy call-up since the World Cup, particularly with national team coach Antonio Conte in attendance. Given Conte's change to a 4-3-3 system in recent months, Insigne's incisiveness on the wing could be a key in giving the Azzurri the attacking "omph" that they've missed since Conte's tenure began.
Loser: Cristian Zapata
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For the second week in a row, Cristian Zapata made huge mistakes that cost his team dearly.
Last week, his loose passing put Alessio Romagnoli in a terrible position, eventually producing the foul that saw the 20-year-old receive his second yellow card. This week's mistake was even worse.
This week's boneheaded mistake saw Zapata's attempt at a clearance fly straight to the feet of Marek Hamsik. The Napoli captain immediately fed the ball to Insigne, whose square pass to Allan was cooly deposited in the back of the net by the unmarked Brazilian.
As the game wore on, the Colombian seemed to be playing on the edge of reason. At one point he was whistled for practically grabbing hold of Insigne's head to stop him, and he was lucky not to be called for a penalty in the dying moments of the first half.
Zapata is a weird case. He performs so well when wearing the shirt of the Colombian national team but simply can't reproduce that form at club level. Earlier this week, this column nominated Romagnoli and Ely as the team's best center-back pairing moving forward, and on Sunday Zapata did nothing to disprove that notion.
If he keeps playing so unhinged, he's going to find himself out of the rotation entirely.
Winner: Maurizio Sarri
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This summer, Maurizio Sarri was brought in to take over a Napoli team that had obviously been suffering under former manager Rafael Benitez.
Sarri's season last year with Empoli—a fantastic run for a newly promoted team that saw the Azzurri finish 15th and almost completely avoid the relegation battle—put him on the map, and Napoli snapped him up when Benitez left at the end of his contract to coach Real Madrid.
It's taken some time, but it looks like Sarri's methods are starting to produce results. Since opening the season with a loss to Sassuolo and then a pair of draws, Napoli has won five and drawn one in its last six matches in all competitions.
The wins included victories over Club Brugge, Lazio, Juventus, Legia Warsaw and now Milan. In those five matches they outscored their opponents 18-1, the only blemish coming when Mario Lemina let Juve back into last week's match.
Sarri's system is clearly catching. The one major weakness is still defense, but if this run of clean sheets—five in six games between Serie A and the Europa League—continues, it could be that he has plugged this leak as well. With plenty of time left in the season, Napoli could find themselves up near the the top of the table before too long.
Loser: Rodrigo Ely
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Zapata's defensive partner didn't fare much better.
Starting his first game since being sent off against Fiorentina in the opener, the young Brazilian started out well, and his strong header off a free kick at the hour mark could have given Milan a route back into the game had it not been for an excellent save by Pepe Reina.
But as the game wore on and Milan's defense was continually exposed, Ely started looking more and more panicked. His foul on Gonzalo Higuain—an infraction for which he was booked—set up Insigne's free kick, and more problems were to come.
In the 77th minute, Faouzi Ghoulam drove down the left wing and fired in a cross. A sea of Milan feet slid for it, but it evaded all until it reached Ely, whose touch tapped it past a wrong-footed Lopez for an own goal.
Today was certainly not a banner day, but Ely is still young and needs experience in order to iron out the kinks in his game. It's better to have a 21-year-old make a mistake he can learn from than someone like Zapata, who at almost 30 is much less likely to take a lesson from such play.
Ely didn't look good today, but when Romagnoli returns from suspension next week, he should play alongside him to develop the chemistry needed in a defensive pair.
Winner: Giacomo Bonaventura
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Special mention should be made of Giacomo Bonaventura, who was easily Milan's best man on the field today. He ran hard throughout and was responsible for most of whatever danger the Rossoneri managed to create.
According to WhoScored.com, he made three key passes and completed 80 percent of his total passes. He moved from wing to wing as necessary to create what he could, and his free kick at the game's end—one of two shots Milan managed to put on target—was well-taken but didn't quite get as close to the far post as he wanted it to.
But more than anything else, Bonaventura was the only Milan player who looked like he still cared at the end of the game.
This is nothing new: Toward the end of last season, when Milan looked completely adrift, Bonaventura was often one of the few men still fighting. If they could clone him and throw 10 more Jacks onto the field, maybe they would have the mentality necessary to win consistently.
A bright spot in a tough game, Bonaventura's performance should be recognized.
Loser: Luiz Adriano
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Neither of Milan's starting strikers looked particularly good Sunday. At one point, Carlos Bacca slammed a ball into the advertising boards after being called offside, and it was clear to see the source of his frustration. He hardly got any service all game long.
But his partner, Luiz Adriano, was downright bad. His shots were wayward or couldn't find a route past a blocking defender. His passing was, for the most part, dismal.
Of particular note was a fantastic chance in the 24th minute, which saw him overrun a cross from Andrea Bertolacci and tip the ball out for a goal kick as he tried to reach behind himself for it. It could have been a quick equalizer and kept his team in the game both physically and mentally, but he couldn't readjust fast enough.
As the game wore on he dropped far too deep to try to regain possession, leaving Bacca isolated up top with no help whatsoever.
With Mario Balotelli's stock on the rise following some impressive performances, Adriano's job is squarely on the line here. He's going to have to get himself back on track before the Italian comes back from injury—otherwise he could find himself on the bench long-term.
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