Napoli 2-1 AC Milan Player Ratings: Antonio Conte’s Men Stay Alive In Serie A Title Race With Gritty Win

Napoli picked up a gritty 2-1 win over AC Milan in their Serie A clash at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona on March 30, 2025. Gli Azzurri raced into a 2-0 lead through goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku in the first half, and despite Luka Jovic’s late goal, they held on to stay alive in the Serie A title race.

The hosts were brimming with high energy levels ahead of kick-off and had a perfect start to the game. In the second minute, a smart forward pass from Giovanni Di Lorenzo was pounced on by Matteo Politano, who sneaked past multiple defenders before blasting a shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. The Rossoneri were rattled by Napoli’s early efficiency but tried to claw their way back into the game.

A nicely linked move saw Kyle Walker set up a chance for Tammy Abraham in the 11th minute, but his attempt went wide. Romelu Lukaku missed a decent chance in the 15th minute by failing to latch onto an inviting cross inside the box. However, he made no mistake in the 19th minute, producing a clever finish past Mike Maginan to double his side’s lead. Frank Anguissa nearly made it 3-0 three minutes later as his powerful shot was tipped over.

Despite pushing forward for goals, the Milan players were quite toothless in the first half. Napoli winger David Neres had a speculative volley go wide in the 33rd minute, while Milan’s only prominent chance fell to Youssouf Fofana, whose 45th-minute shot was deflected for a corner. However, the Rossoneri came out a much more confident, threatening force after the break. Substitute Rafael Leao made an inspired forward run in the 55th minute, but his shot was dragged wide.

Strahinja Pavloic had a speculative long-range effort go over in the 64th minute. Four minutes later, however, AC Milan earned a penalty after Theo Hernandez was brought down in the box. Substitute Santiago Gimenez’s effort, however, was easily saved by Alex Meret. Meret also tipped a Pavlovic long-range over the bar in the 79th minute.

Milan’s persistence finally paid off in the 84th minute, when Theo Hernandez’s cross was scrambled into the box by substitute Luka Jovic. Despite Milan’s late push for a winner, which saw Jovic shoot wide in stoppage time, they couldn’t breach the Napoli backline and Gli Azzurri picked a big win to remain in second place and three points behind Inter Milan. Here are the Napoli vs AC Milan Player Ratings.

Napoli Player Ratings

GK – Alex Meret – 7.5/10

Meret didn’t have a whole lot of saves to make, but he perfectly stopped Gimenez’s penalty when his team needed him. Made a few nice saves apart from that too.

RB – Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 7/10

Di Lorenzo began the game impressively with a superb pass for the opening goal. Alert and proactive at the back, regaining the ball many times and neutralizing Milan’s movement through his side. Outwitted for Jovic’s goal.

CB – Amir Rrahmani – 6/10

Rrahmani maintained a pretty sturdy defensive line, making some vital challenges and commanding his side to remain strong. Distributed the ball along nicely too. His positioning for Jovic’s goal was a bit questionable.

CB – Alessandro Buongiorno – 6.5/10

The Italian centre-back was rock solid at the back. Neutralized Tammy Abraham’s threat with his sturdy defense and popped up in the right places, making key tackles and winning the necessary duels too.

LB – Mathias Olivera – 7/10

Olivera kept things pretty clean down his side, frustrating Pulisic & co with his diligent defensive work. He came up with some vital clearances and worked hard to stop Milan from pounding through his flank.

CM – Billy Gilmour – 6.5/10

Gilmour was energetic and effective in winning back possession, knowing when to time the passes perfectly. Played a clever pass to set up Lukaku’s goal.

CM – Stanislav Lobotka – 6/10

Lobotka was pretty efficient with his passing, helping move the ball from defence into attack smoothly. He made a few necessary challenges, but wasn’t that proactive in stopping Milan’s movement through central channels.

CM – Frank Anguissa – 6/10

The 29-year-old was quite the energetic figure in midfield, covering a lot of ground and making it tough for Milan to move the ball along freely through midfield. Didn’t seem fit and taken off after the hour mark.

RW – Matteo Politano – 8.5/10

Politano had a superb start to the game, weaving past multiple defenders before producing a brilliant goal. He was a constant threat on the right, creating a few big chances and also helping out with his proactive defensive work.

LW – David Neres – 5.5/10

Neres moved around nicely with the ball, but he couldn’t add anything special to Napoli’s frontline. Had a speculative effort go wide in the first half and failed to create much.

CF – Romelu Lukaku – 7.5/10

Lukaku was a bullish figure in the Napoli frontline, troubling the defenders with his unpredictable movement and physicality. Produced a slick finish for his goal and linked up well in the final third.

Manager – Antonio Conte – 7.5/10

Conte took a bit of a risk in changing to a 4-man backline from a three-at-the-back formation, but it worked out quite perfectly. He motivated his side to take the fight to the visitors from the get-go, which resulted in their early goal. Their clever pressing ability worked in Napoli’s favor and Conte set them up strongly enough to maintain a sturdy defensive shape and see out the result.

SUB – Philip Biling – 5.5/10

Made a silly foul to bring down Hernandez for the penalty, but was bailed out by the goalkeeper in that aspect.

SUB – Juan Jesus – 6/10

Helped his side get the job done.

SUB – Pasquale Mazzochi – 6/10

Added some more steel to his midfield to help his side defend better.

SUB – Cyril Ngonge – N/R

Couldn’t do much in the attack.

SUB – Giovanni Simeone – N/R

Added more energy in the frontline, creating a late chance.

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AC Milan Player Ratings

GK – Mike Maignan – 5/10

Maignan was taken aback by Politano’s goal, just not being able to react in time to stop it. Stopped in his tracks for the second too. Made a few decent saves but his passing was uninspiring.

RB – Kyle Walker – 6/10

Walker did a decent job in stopping Napoli from having free rein on his side, recovering possession many times, and frustrating Neres. Couldn’t do much in the attacking third.

CB – Matteo Gabbia – 4.5/10

The Italian centre-back had a night to forget in Naples. He was outwitted and embarrassed for the first goal, failing to react well enough to stop Politano. Ousted by Lukaku & co multiple times, getting tricked into bad positions, and lacking a strong presence in the backline.

CB – Strahinja Pavlovic – 5.5/10

Pavlovic was ousted for the opening goal, not being able to quick press down Politano before he took the shot. He worked hard after that, winning many duels, but wasn’t the most compelling figure in the backline.

LB – Theo Hernandez – 7.5/10

Hernandez was arguably the best of the lot in Milan’s backline. He was energetic and assertive at the back, winning many duels and stopping several attacking moves. He won the penalty after some smart work, but his teammates couldn’t reward him on that front. Played a great pass to set up Jovic’s goal.

CM – Warren Bondo – 5/10

Bondo didn’t seem that comfortable dealing with the intensity and pace of the match. Failed to stop Napoli’s movement through midfield and was caught in a bad position for Lukaku’s goal.

CM – Youssouf Fofana – 6.5/10

Fofana was an energetic figure in midfield, adding more steel to his recovery abilities. He used his physicality and game-reading skills to win many duels, but was slightly out of position for the second goal.

AM – Tijani Reijnders – 5/10

Reijnders had a frustrating outing in that no.10 role, not being able to pull the strings well enough or create chances. Looked more at ease when dropped into midfield later on, from which he moved the ball smartly, but failed to create much. His top corner shots also went off-target.

RW – Christian Pulisic – 4.5/10

Pulisic was quite underwhelming in the AC Milan attack. He couldn’t create anything for the Rossoneri, giving the ball away with poor passes, and had zero goal-scoring threat on the night.

LW – Joao Felix – 5.5/10

Felix had a pretty frustrating outing against Napoli. He was pretty disciplined with his passing and helped with defensive work, but failed to create noteworthy chances. Taken off before the hour mark.

CF – Tammy Abraham – 4.5/10

Abraham had a real tussle against the Napoli centre-backs, being involved in many duels. His final product, however, was awry as he failed to get to the end of chances properly or test the goalkeeper.

SUB – Rafael Leao – 6.5/10

Leao added some much-needed drive to the Milan frontline after coming on. He made a few brilliant darting forward runs, but his teammates were just not clinical enough in finishing off anything he set up. Played a nice pass to Hernandez for Gimenez’s goal.

SUB – Samuel Chukwueze – 6/10

Chukwueze’s movement and dribbling ability troubled the Napoli defenders. He got into some promising areas, but couldn’t create anything major.

SUB – Santiago Gimenez – 4.5/10

Gimenez failed to add that special bite to his side’s attack. Scuffed a shot over the bar after coming on and his penalty was too poor, making it easy for Meret to save it.

SUB – Alex Jimenez – N/R

Looked a bit shaky against the counter-attacks.

SUB – Luka Jovic – 7.5/10

His positioning was dangerous and did smartly to get to the end of Hernandez’s cross for his goal. Came close to scoring another in stoppage time but his powerful shot went wide.

Manager – Sergio Conceicao – 5/10

Conceicao made some bold choices with his starting XI, keeping out some key players. His defensive line choice failed to be proven right, as they looked vulnerable and were bamboozled by the goals. His substitutes added more drive to his side, with the subs’ bright performance indicating that he made some wrong selections.

Sportsdunia’s Man of the Match goes to Matteo Politano.

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