When Napoli hired Antonio Conte as their coach, it was clear that they were going for the Scudetto again. A coach like him doesn’t accept minor challenges. He was the Italian champion with Juventus and Inter, and the English champion with Chelsea…And when Milan appointed Paulo Fonseca as their coach, it was clear what direction the club was thinking of: a life of mediocrity and developing young players for sale. Fonseca’s biggest achievements in his career are titles with Shakhtar in Ukraine. The different philosophies of Aurelio De Laurentiis and Milan’s American owners were reflected on the pitch tonight and illustrated by the final score at San Siro – 0:2.1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ goal contributions in 137 appearances. Romelu Lukaku has dominated Serie A 😤 pic.twitter.com/vZGHSAv6Yj— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 29, 2024 Conte’s Napoli is certainly Scudetto material; Milan is not. Not because of the 11-point difference after just nine rounds, but because of the way the two teams looked on the field and Napoli’s almost routine victory on a pitch that used to be a black hole for them. From the first to the last minute, the visitors controlled the game and the result, finishing the match without major issues. Conte even managed to rest some key players toward the end. Napoli is solid, compact, knows what it wants and how to play. Milan, on the other hand, is a strange blend with neither flavor nor identity, with key players far from the required level and no clear playing style.Fonseca might find excuses in the absences of Hernandez and Reijnders, or in Pulisic’s lack of fitness, but the impression is that even with the full squad, he would have faced a similar fate tonight. Conte was missing only Lobotka, but Billy Gilmour filled his role perfectly. The midfield trio with him, McTominay, and Zambo Anguissa is the engine driving Napoli forward this season. With that kind of power in midfield, the offensive options like Lukaku or Kvaratskhelia shine even more.Lukaku was in the spotlight at the start of the match. First, he blocked a shot from teammate Rrahmani in a great chance, but then he redeemed himself by scoring in the 5th minute—his first goal from open play in a month. Napoli quickly intercepted a sloppy Milan attack, regained possession, and created a chance in two moves. Rrahmani found Zambo Anguissa, who immediately launched Lukaku, and the powerful Belgian shrugged off Strahinja Pavlović like a leaf in the wind. The execution was as dominant as the previous duel…4 – Romelu Lukaku is one of only two players, along with Ademola Lookman, to have scored at least four goals and provided at least four assists in Serie A this season. Decisive.#MilanNapoli pic.twitter.com/q3t7IUVpRV— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 29, 2024 Milan had good chances afterward, mainly through Morata, Chukwueze, and the lively Musah, but they didn’t capitalize on them, and the punishment soon followed, sealing the match. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did his “usual thing”: he cut in from the left wing, set up his right foot, and deceived Maignan with a shot into the far corner, as the goalkeeper misjudged the ball’s flight. It was a blow Milan couldn’t recover from, while Napoli lowered the tempo, cut off attacks, and protected their lead in the second half. The Rossoneri seemed to give up with half an hour to go. Rafa Leao had a decent attempt near the end, but Meret stood out with a brilliant save, and that was the end of it Napoli kicked off a tough schedule with an important victory at San Siro and showed they have championship potential. Next, they face Atalanta, Inter, Roma, Torino, and Lazio twice. If they reach early December in first place with this or a larger lead, we can proclaim Conte’s team as the primary favorite in the title race. That’s just how Conte does it…Milan, on the other hand, is 11 points behind, with a game in hand, and for them, a Champions League qualification would be the peak of the season.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 10Tuesday Cagliari – Bologna 0-2 (0-1)/Orsolini 35, Odgaard 51/Lecce – Verona 1-0 (0-0)/Dorgu 1/Milan – Napoli 0-2 (0-2)/Lukaku 5, Kvaratskhelia 43/Wednesday 20.30: (7.50) Empoli (4.20) Inter (1.47)20.30: (2.75) Venezia (3.15) Udinese (2.90)22.45: (1.32) Atalanta (5.30) Monza (9.50)22.45: (1.43) Juventus (4.50) Parma (7.50)Thursday 20.30: (4.80) Genoa (3.50) Fiorentina (1.78)22.45: (2.85) Como (3.30) Lazio (2.50)22.45: (1.80) Roma (3.70) Torino (5.00)***odds are subject to change***
