Napoli and AC Milan’s 2-2 draw on Sunday was a contender for match of the season.
It had almost everything: 94 minutes of end-to-end action between the two most recent Serie A winners, both better at attacking down the flanks than defending them; Napoli recovered from 2-0 down at half-time and almost won the game in second-half stoppage time despite an 89th-minute red card for their centre-back Natan; and there were more combined shots (37) than throw-ins (36).
Such a chaotic second half makes it easy to forget Olivier Giroud’s first-half double in the space of nine minutes. Headed goals are his speciality — he ranks fourth in the all-time Premier League headed goals charts — but to score two in the same game is rare.
Since the start of 2021-22, it was the fifth time a player scored two headers in one Serie A game. In the same period, it has happened only three times in the Premier League and on eight occasions in the Champions League. Looking at data since his Montpellier days (from 2010-11), Giroud has only managed it once before (during Arsenal’s 3-3 draw against Fulham in November 2012).
Milan came into the gameweek as one of three teams in Europe’s top-five leagues (along with Aston Villa and Burnley) yet to score or concede a headed goal. Giroud, who turned 37 last month, had been on an 11-game goal drought for Milan and France. His last goal, a penalty, was in the 2-1 away win over Roma on September 1.
Milan’s 4-0 win in this fixture last season was all about the left side of their attack, particularly Rafael Leao. Their summer recruitment, specifically winger Christian Pulisic and central midfielders Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, sought to evolve their right side. The graphic below shows how infrequently either wing was used last season.
Milan have spent the first part of this season moving right-back Davide Calabria into midfield to play out from defence with a 3-2 structure and increase access to the wingers, something that went disastrously in September’s 5-1 derby defeat to Inter Milan.
Stefano Pioli’s decision to keep Calabria wide on Sunday evening was likely to ensure Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would be covered. Leaving Napoli’s left-winger isolated and with space behind to exploit would be dangerous.
In possession, Milan took advantage of Kvaratskhelia’s careless defending. Calabria’s forward runs and passes and Musah’s off-ball movement were essential in creating advanced crossing positions down Napoli’s left.
This is clear in the first two minutes when Musah takes up a position high in the half-space.
Without Kvaratskhelia dropping, Mario Rui has a dilemma — he cannot press Musah or Pulisic without leaving the other free. Musah receives Calabria’s pass, turns, and shoots.
It is blocked but drops into Giroud’s path and his effort is deflected wide for a corner.
In deeper build-up play, Napoli’s 4-5-1 shape had issues. Under Luciano Spalletti, Napoli won last season’s scudetto as the best pressing team and would frequently push a central midfielder forward to close down from a 4-4-2 against opponents building up with two centre-backs.
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Their deeper line of engagement at home to Milan might have been to try to encourage more space to exploit on the counter, but No 9 Giacomo Raspadori (in place of the injured Victor Osimhen) was often isolated and could do little to prevent Milan’s centre-backs from progressing play.
Raspadori, a No 9 who likes to drop deep and link play, was the wrong type of player for this opponent. Milan’s high line suited a runner into the space behind their defence — Osimhen’s profile — and something Paris Saint-Germain had exploited during their 3-0 win in the Champions League a few days before.
Napoli and Milan were systematically matched up, both playing 4-3-3, so space and superiority were most achievable through wide rotations, but also through more ambitious build-up play, either with centre-backs stepping out — which Fikayo Tomori did excellently — direct passes into the No 9, or big switches to isolate wingers.
Here, Calabria is offered time and space and though Napoli have players covering passes to Milan’s central midfielders, Milan use clever movement to open passing lanes further forward. Musah pulls wide and Giroud drops in, setting Calabria’s pass to the USMNT international.
It is Calabria’s run that pulls Kvaratskhelia deeper in the build-up to the opening goal, allowing Tijjani Reijnders to isolate Pulisic against Mario Rui.
Pioli wanted multiple targets in the penalty area. “We need to fill the area more, yes, we are often going one-on-one on the wingers and we are crossing more than last season,” said the Milan manager pre-match. “We need to fill the area not only with the midfielders but also with the wide attacker opposite.”
Here, we see this. Leao moves inside to lock off the back post, Musah pushes forward and Calabria stays in the area. Milan have four attackers against three Napoli defenders and it becomes a collection of individual aerial duels. Pulisic curls an inswinging cross, almost identical to the one for Milan’s opening goal against Bologna on matchday one.
Giroud meets it and goalkeeper Alex Meret cannot keep it out.
Napoli are an aerially weaker team this season. Collectively, their header win rate has dropped from 54.5 per cent last season to 47.4 per cent — from the third-best to 14th in Serie A. Kim Min-jae’s departure to Bayern Munich is a big part of that as he was their best box defender, but head coach Rudi Garcia has struggled to find an established centre-back pairing.
This game was the third consecutive match Amir Rrahmani and Natan started together, but Garcia has regularly interchanged four centre-backs across Napoli’s 13 games in all competitions this season. Natan has started eight times, Rrahmani seven, Leo Ostigard six and Juan Jesus five. Ostigard is not the best ball player but is aerially dominant and physical, ideal for defending Giroud, but Garcia opted against it.
When Napoli did try to press from a 4-4-2 rather than moving up a central midfielder, they brought the ball-side winger inside. Milan’s response was straightforward: skip out the centre-back and go directly to the full-back, who was now in space, similar to how they exploited Newcastle United’s narrow 4-3-3 press at the San Siro.
In the build-up to the second goal, Milan play out by going straight from Maignan to Calabria, who dribbles beyond the narrow Kvaratskhelia and passes into Pulisic.
Pulisic comes inside and gives the ball to Reijnders, who decides against completing the right-to-left attack and switches it back to the right, where Musah has made a forward run.
Mario Rui competes well with Musah but Calabria comes in support and Kvaratskhelia (out of shot) is tracking back incredibly slowly.
And by the time he gets into position, the Georgia international is standing still. When Mario Rui tackles Musah, Calabria runs onto the loose ball and crosses first time, without pressure from Kvaratskhelia.
Once more, Milan have four in the box. This time, left-back Theo Hernandez is at the back-post but defensive midfielder Rade Krunic makes a crashing run and is poised to score, only for Giroud to outjump Rrahmani and head into the far corner.
Milan could and should have been out of sight by half-time — Reijnders puts Hernandez’s cutback over the bar and just before the end of the half, Giroud has another chance.
Calabria again gets down the outside of Kvaratskhelia and plays a one-two with Pulisic.
Milan attack the box with four. Calabria crosses low, but Juan Jesus gets the first touch and Giroud is forced into an ambitious hooked volley that does not trouble Meret.
Milan threw away a two-goal lead and, with that, a chance to move into second and be one point behind Inter.
Garcia’s triple half-time substitution — straight swaps of Ostigard for Rrahmani, Mathias Olivera for Mario Rui at left-back, and replacing midfielder Eljif Elmas for striker Giovanni Simeone — destabilised the game further at both ends of the pitch. Napoli’s two goals in 13 minutes, the second a phenomenal Raspadori free kick, meant they recovered the game as quickly as they lost it.
A superb free-kick from Giacomo Raspadori, and Napoli are level having been 2-0 down.
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— The Athletic Football (@TheAthleticFC) October 29, 2023
It ends what was termed Milan’s ‘week of fire’, after facing Juventus (1-0 loss), PSG (3-0 loss) and Napoli in eight days — but they continue to hold their own in Naples, unbeaten now in six consecutive visits, last losing in August 2018.
In the Champions League, Milan will need to replicate their first-half performance if they are to make it into the knockout stages. Milan, in a group alongside Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and PSG, have just two points and have not scored a goal after three games.
Their game plan for Udinese and PSG at home in the next two games? Cross to Giroud, surely.
(Top photo: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)
