Both AC Milan and Napoli dropped points in their title charge as they were held by Inter Milan and Hellas Verona, respectively. Meanwhile, AS Roma’s rut under Jose Mourinho continued with their second straight loss in the league.
AC Milan’s old boy Hakan Calhanoglu came back to haunt his former side, as he scored from the spot early on to give rivals Inter Milan the lead in Derby della Madonnina. The Turkish international himself had won the penalty by pressuring Milan’s Franck Kessie into going back inside his box before winning a foul. Calhanoglu stepped up and placed his spot-kick down the middle, putting Inter ahead.
Inter’s lead lasted six minutes as Milan were level by the 17th. Centre-back Stefan de Vrij inadvertently headed a delivery from Sandro Tonali past Samir Handanovic, relinquishing his side’s advantage in the process.
The Nerazzurri, dominant for large parts of the game, secured another spot-kick in the 25th minute when Fode Ballo Toure clumsily tackled Matteo Darmian inside the box. This time, however, Ciprian Tatarusanu made a superb stop to deny Lautaro Martinez from the spot – diving low to his right and getting a strong hand to the Argentine’s kick.
Both Inter and Milan pressed on to find the winner. Nicolo Barella had a shot blocked at the goal line, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a free-kick saved by Handanovic. Alexis Saelamaekers hit the post with a long-range shot late on, and Kessie failed to keep the follow-through on target, as the Rossoneri dropped points in their title charge.
Luckily for Milan, Napoli, too, dropped points at home to Hellas Verona. The Partenopei- donning special Diego Maradona shirts in remembrance of the Argentine – gave away a goal in the 12th minute to the in-form Giovanni Simeone; the forward flicked in from close range, a cross by Antonin Barak.
However, Napoli hit back almost instantly through Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who drove the ball through Lorenzo Montipo’s legs from close range after being played through by Fabian Ruiz. Verona, who had Daniel Bessa and Nikola Kalinic sent off late on, held on to the point.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma lost their second straight league game, this time to the newly-promoted Venezia. The Giallorossi fought back from a goal down to go into the break with the lead – thanks to strikes from Eldor Shomurodov and Tammy Abraham.
However, second-half goals from Mattia Aramu – from the spot – and David Okereke turned the tide in favor of Venezia and condemned Roma to another defeat.
