Napoli Beats AC Milan 1-0 in Serie A Thriller

Napoli secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over AC Milan on Monday night at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, keeping their Serie A title defense alive while dealing a blow to their rivals' championship hopes. Substitute Matteo Politano scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute, firing a low shot past Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan after the visitors failed to clear a cross from the left flank. The win marked Napoli's fifth consecutive league victory and propelled them into second place, seven points behind leaders Inter Milan with seven matches remaining.

The match lacked fluidity, with both teams struggling to create clear opportunities despite the high stakes. Napoli, who started the evening one point behind Milan and 10 points off the pace set by Inter, controlled possession but relied on Politano's late intervention after replacing Leonardo Spinazzola five minutes earlier. Milan pushed forward in the closing stages but could not find an equalizer, dropping to third place and now trailing Inter by nine points. The result likely confines Milan to a battle for Champions League qualification rather than the Scudetto.

Napoli's success came amid several absences....