The 21-year-old — a somewhat controversial omission from last year’s World Cup finals squad — set up Ghanaian Kevin-Prince Boateng for Milan’s second goal and then added a glorious third two minutes later to give them a five-point lead over champions Inter, while Napoli are six points adrift of the leaders.
Swedish international striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had opened the scoring for Milan early in the second-half from the penalty spot — a harsh call by referee Gianluca Rocchi for handball on Napoli defender Salvatore Aronica, who while the ball clearly hit his arm it did not seem to be deliberate on his part.
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said he believed from his viewing point that Rocchi had called it correctly.
“Seen from the sidelines it was a penalty,” he said. “But independent of that moment, Milan produced a good performance, and deserved the victory.”
“We really played very well, [Christian] Abbiati didn’t have to make a save and we created several chances,” Allegri said. “The thing that really pleased me was that the team was looking to make it 2-0, and even 3-0. The six point lead is a tidy advantage, but there are still a lot of matches to go, including the derby with Inter, and Napoli cannot be discounted yet.”
His Napoli counterpart, Walter Mazzarri, said that it was not a penalty and that his team had been unnerved by it. However, he said there was still a lot of water to flow under the bridge before the title was won.
“We lost a final, but there are still 11 remaining,” Mazzarri said. “We can lose at Milan, 1-0 or 3-0 changes nothing, now it is imperative that we get back to work and get back to how we were before this match.”
“We never spoke of a target, we are just trying to do our best. Losing doesn’t change our routine, we are preparing for our next match against Brescia,” he said. “They [Milan] were too strong, and we were unable to impose our style of play, to pass the ball as we know how to do, and also we were tired having played in the Europa League last Thursday.”
“But the penalty dictated the outcome of the match, after it, my guys got upset and became disjointed, they played like kids, and that played into Milan’s hands,” Mazzarri said. “It is only by playing one discovers things such as happened tonight, that we must remain calm, but we are learning all the time.”
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