March 31, (THEWILL) – Napoli reduced the deficit to three points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan following a hard-fought 2-1 triumph against AC Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
The victory came hours after Inter had extended their advantage with a win against Udinese earlier in the day.
The hosts made an explosive start when Matteo Politano fired them ahead after just one minute, latching onto Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s through ball and finishing past Mike Maignan.
Romelu Lukaku doubled Napoli’s advantage in the 19th minute, converting Billy Gilmour’s intelligent pass despite not making clean contact with his shot.
AC Milan, who announced before the match that midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek had undergone appendectomy surgery and faces a spell on the sidelines, improved after half-time.
Their comeback hopes were boosted when Philip Billing conceded a penalty for a foul on Theo Hernandez in the 69th minute, but Alex Meret produced a brilliant save to deny Santiago Gimenez’s weak spot-kick.
The visitors did manage to pull a goal back with seven minutes remaining when substitute Luka Jovic finished from close range after Hernandez delivered an inviting cross into the six-yard box.
Despite mounting significant pressure in the closing stages, Sergio Conceicao’s side could not find an equaliser as Antonio Conte’s men held firm.
The result maintains Napoli’s Scudetto challenge heading into the final stretch of the 2024/2025 campaign, keeping them within striking distance of the league leaders.
Inter’s advantage has been cut back to three points following what proved to be an entertaining and significant encounter in the Italian top flight.
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.
