Well not much has gone according to script at the start of this new Serie A season. This is particularly true if you're a supporter of one of the Milan clubs. I don't know that many people would have predicted that both Inter and AC Milan would be stuck on just one point after two weeks of play. That, however, is where we find ourselves. It must be said though that AC Milan have had the tougher of the two schedules so far.
To end this week's action in Serie A, AC Milan took it's show on the road to San Paolo to take on Napoli. Napoli has been on the rise the last couple of seasons in Serie A, and find themselves sharing the Champions League spotlight with Milan and Inter. This promised to be a very interesting match.
Unfortuately, the first 10 minutes of the match were anything but interesting. Both teams seemed to come out hesitant, and it was like they didn't know what to make of each other. For Milan, they were also without the services of Ztlan Ibrahimovic, which didn't help matters. Milan did get off the ground first though. In the 12th minute, Cassano sent a ball into the box that was brilliantly headed in by Alberto Aquilani. The bullet header put Milan up 0-1.
Napoli didn't wait long at all to respond though. Milan's lead only lasted about two minutes. In the 14th Edinson Cavani volleyed home a free kick from Maggio to equalize the match at 1-1. Cavani was not finished either. In the 36th minute Walter Gargano slipped all by his lonesome into midfield space and sent it in to Cavani, who promptly drilled it into the net to give Napoli the 2-1 lead. That was the score at the intermission.
Napoli put the match out of reach in the second half, again through the foot of Cavani. The Uruguayan completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute. He jumped on a failed Milan clearance and blasted it into the net to make it 3-1.
After that, Napoli just killed the match. They deliberately did everything they could to unsettle the Champions and slow down the game. It worked. Cavani got one more chance with about 5 minutes to go, but Abbiati turned it away. The 3-1 score was the final and leaves Napoli top of the table on goal difference.
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