Good morning, my friends! Here are the front pages from the Italian newspapers La Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport, and Tutto Sport, Monday 20 December 2021
La Gazzetta dello Sport, Front Page, Monday 20 December 2021.
Front Page, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Monday 20 December
👉Milan fury: Kessie equalizer disallowed at the 90th, Napoli win
The VAR doesn’t work this way
👉It’s at +4 and Wednesday the first half of the season ends
Inter Winter Champions
Corriere dello Sport, Front Page, Monday 20 December 2021 .
Front Page Corriere dello Sport, Monday 20 December
👉Elmas decides the big match: Inter remain at +4, it’s Winter Champions
Napoli coup
They beat Milan at San Siro [0-1], catch them and leapfrog Atalanta
👉Fiorentina 2-2 with Sassuolo
Dusan record
33 like CR7
AC Milan failing big time losing the Serie A Week 18 game defeated by Napoli at the San Siro Stadium. The victory helping Napoli to overtake the 2nd position reaching 39 points and a +22 goal difference. AC Milan stepping down from the 2nd to the 3rd position remaining with 39 points but with a lower goal difference +16. Milan have not beaten Napoli at home in the league since 2-0 in December 2014 with Filippo Inzaghi on the bench (Menez and Bonaventura scored): since then three Campania wins and three draws.
Inter win the Serie A Week 18 game against Salernitana in grand style keeping the sole leadership reaching 43 points at the Arechi Stadium. Alexis scoring the 101 league goal of the year! Salernitana need to start earning points to dream with salvation. Inter are one of the three teams (along with Lazio and Bologna) that Salernitana has faced more than once at home in Serie A, always finding success and never conceding a goal.
A slap for Atalanta losing the Serie A Week 18 game against AS Roma risking to lose the 3rd position at the Gewiss Stadium. Roma conquering the Gewiss with this important away victory grabbing all 3 points reaching 31 points being -6 points below Atalanta. The three-way race for the Scudetto remain among Atalanta, Inter and AC Milan, and we might even see Napoli joining it!
Juventus winning the Serie A Week 18 game defeating Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium. Juventus have now won their last 11 Serie A games against Bologna, against no team they have a longer open streak in the competition. Juventus with a sprint race to be among the top 3 positions, so far, reaching 31 points being -12 points below Inter in the 1st position with 43 points while Bologna remaining with only 24 points.
It is a wake up call for Cagliari to end this year, at least, with a victory to dream with salvation. Udinese silencing the Unipol Domus claiming the away victory with a poker. Udinese reaching 20 points having +10 points lead over Cagliari. The six Serie A matches played in December between Cagliari and Udinese ended with five Friulian wins and a 1-1 draw, in the most recent of these (in 2020).
Lazio win the Serie A Week 18 game defeating Genoa at the Olimpico di Roma Stadium. Lazio with a sprint race to climb towards the top 6 positions while Genoa need to climb from the relegation zone. Andriy Shevchenko is the third coach in the era of three points to win who has not found success in any of the first five matches as the Genoa bench in Serie A, after Giuseppe Marchioro in 1995 and Luigi Delneri in 2012 – both have won the sixth game with this team.
Torino returning to smile after winning the Serie A Week 18 game defeating Hellas Verona at the Olimpico Torino Stadium in Turin, Italy. The much needed victory giving the boost to the morale of the team. Torino with a leapfrog reaching 25 points being now +2 points above Hellas Verona remaining with 23 points. Torino have won five of their last six home league games (one draw).
Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
AC Milan, 2nd position with 39 points and a positive goal difference of +17
Napoli, 4th position with 36 points and a positive goal difference of +21
AC Milan failing big time losing the Serie A Week 18 game defeated by Napoli on Sunday 19 December 2021 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy. The victory helping Napoli to overtake the 2nd position reaching 39 points and a +22 goal difference. AC Milan stepping down from the 2nd to the 3rd position remaining with 39 points but with a lower goal difference +16. Milan have not beaten Napoli at home in the league since 2-0 in December 2014 with Filippo Inzaghi on the bench (Menez and Bonaventura scored): since then three Campania wins and three draws.
AC Milan celebrating 122 years since their foundation
Photo via twitter.com/acmilan
Napoli opening the score in the 5th minute. It is Eljif Elmas to defeat AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a headed shot to the center. The assist is by Piotr Zielinski with a cross following a corner conceded by Rade Krunic.
👉AC Milan 0 – 1 Napoli, 5th minute, ⚽️ goal by Eljif Elmas for @en_sscnapoli with a headed shot to the center. The assist is by Piotr Zielinski with a cross following a corner conceded by Rade Krunic. https://t.co/FbgtcnobeN
✅ Stats before the game. Milan have won only one of the last 13 Serie A matches played against Napoli (3-1 in Campania in November 2020): in this partial five draws and seven wins for the Azzurri. From the 2015/16 season to today, of the teams faced at least three times in Serie A, Napoli is the one against which the Rossoneri club has won fewer league games (just one). Since the beginning of November, Milan have collected eight points in six games, Napoli five – the two teams would be 10th and 16th respectively in the Serie A standings in this period. Napoli have lost their last two league games: they have not reached three consecutive Serie A defeats since January 2020 with Gattuso on the bench (ko with Inter, Lazio and Fiorentina in that case).
Luciano Spalletti is unbeaten in his eight matches as a manager with Stefano Pioli in Serie A: six wins and two draws (including the one in the last meeting dated February 2019, Fiorentina-Inter 3-3); Spalletti in particular is also unbeaten in his last 13 Serie A matches against Milan (10W, 3N), from Milan-Roma 2-1 in May 2006.
👉 Lineup AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi, Tomori, Romagnoli, Ballo-Touré; Kessie, Tonali; Messias, Díaz, Krunić; Ibrahimović.
👉 NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Malcuit, Rrhamani, Juan Jesus, Di Lorenzo; Anguissa, Demme; Lozano, Zieliński, Elmas; Petagna.
Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
AC Milan, 2nd position with 39 points and a positive goal difference of +17
Napoli, 4th position with 36 points and a positive goal difference of +21
✅ Here are AC MILAN vs NAPOLI official starting lineups for the Serie A Week 18 game on Sunday 19 December 2021 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy at 20:45.
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi, Tomori, Romagnoli, Ballo-Touré; Kessie, Tonali; Messias, Díaz, Krunić; Ibrahimović.
Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
AC Milan, 2nd position with 39 points and a positive goal difference of +17
Napoli, 4th position with 36 points and a positive goal difference of +21
✅ Here are AC MILAN official called up players by Coach Stefano Pioli for the Serie A Week 18 game on Sunday 19 December 2021 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy at 20:45.
By Anna Italia
