Napoli survived a second-half scare to beat nine-man Milan 4-2 in an incident-packed Serie A match. Milan recovered from a two-goal half-time deficit to level but their fightback proved in vain as Juraj Kucka and M’Baye Niang were sent off in the final 15 minutes and Napoli took advantage.
One of their summer signings, Arkadiusz Milik, scored twice before the break, his first goals since joining Napoli from Ajax. The Poland striker opened his account after 18 minutes when Dries Mertens’ shot struck the post and fell kindly for him. Milik claimed his second after 33 minutes when he rose above Kucka from José Callejon’s corner and directed a firm header past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Milan’s 17-year-old goalkeeper had kept his side in the game at the interval with two splendid saves from Mertens, and he was rewarded when his side restored parity after 10 minutes of the second half. Niang showed his pace and power before beating José Reina with a low left-foot shot and then their Spanish midfielder Suso struck a beauty from 20 yards.
But Milan imploded after Mertens’ 74th-minute shot was pushed out by Donnarumma for Callejon to finish from close range. Kucka immediately picked up a second yellow card for shoving over Mertens and Niang was also cautioned again for preventing Reina taking a quick throw.
Napoli wrapped up victory in the final seconds, when Chelsea target and centre-half Alessio Romagnoli handled the ball on the line to prevent an own goal. Callejon was on hand to turn the ball in, saving another potential red card for Milan, as Romagnoli escaped with a booking.
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