After squandering numerous chances in the final quarter of the match, Napoli Femminile conceded a 96th minute winner to Milan, remaining pointeless after the first two rounds of the 2023/24 campaign.
Lineup
Biagio Seno made one change to the squad he fielded against Como, which facilitated a change in formation from the 4-3-3 to the 4-4-2. Tecla Pettenuzzo started at right back, pushing Susanna Friedrichs to the right side of the midfield and relegating Alice Corelli to the bench. Gina Chmielinski and Valentina Gallazzi both dropped into the midfield, with Chmielinski playing as a left-sided midfielder and Gallazzi playing alongside Claudia Mauri in the middle of the park. Finally, Marija Banušić moved up to play alongside Paloma Lázaro in the front two.
First Half
Milan created the first chance of the match in the 17th minute from a corner kick. Gloria Marinelli got low to win the header, but somehow Doris Bacic scooped the out of the goal before it crossed the line at the bottom corner. Marinelli came close again 12 minutes later, attacking from the right wing. The Milan forward dribbled to the left of Gallazzi before letting fly with her left, but the ball sailed wide of the far post.
The visitors continued to push for the opener, creating another chance five minutes before the break. Andrea Stašková teed up Christy Grimshaw with a clever back-heel flick, however the midfielder’s volley from the edge of the area dipped over the roof of the goal.
While Milan created the majority of the chances, Napoli had arguably the best chance in the dying minutes of the half. Chmielinski was first to the long Napoli free kick, played into the area from midfield. The Napoli forward struck the ball on the bounce with her left boot, but Milan goalkeeper Laura Giuliani parried aside the shot from close range.
Second Half
Milan started the half well, with Chanté Dompig chipping the ball forward to Andrea Stašková. The Milan striker controlled with her right before shooting with her left, but Martina Di Bari took the sting off the shot before Bacic made the easy save.
The home side didn’t create their first chance of the half until the 72nd minute. Marija Banušić was first to the Napoli long ball, flicking a lob into the area. Paloma Lázaro nipped in to dispossess former Napoli player Guðný Árnadóttir before attempting to lob the keeper, but her shot finished on the roof of the goal.
Their second (and best) chance came five minutes later from a Milan throw-in. Banušić quickly closed down Laura Fusetti, who was the last player back. After controlling the ball with her thigh, Banušić had only the keeper to beat, but she side-footed her shot wide of the far post.
The Partenopee dominated the final quarter of the match, creating yet another chance in the 82nd minute. Alice Corelli collected the ball at midfield and chipped it over the top to substitute Elisa del Estal. The Spaniard got past Giuliani, who was well off her line to challenge for the ball, but Valentina Bergamaschi tracked back to make a crucial block.
Napoli were punished for failing to take their chances. In the dying minutes of the match, Dompig nearly stole the three points, but Bacic got low to stop the shot that was destined for the bottom corner. It seemed as though the match would end in a scoreless draw, but Milan finally broke through in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The ball fell to Christy Grimshaw after a wild scramble in the Napoli area. Her shot from outside the area was controlled by substitute Emelyne Laurent, who blasted the winner into the roof of the goal.
The heart-breaking defeat leaves Napoli with no points through two rounds, despite positive performances from the Partenopee.
Post-Match
Second-half substitute Giulia Giacobbo addressed the media after the match.
“This match certainly leaves us with a lot of bitterness because, in the end, we were unlucky, which is the only thing we missed today. At the end, we put our heart and soul into it, quality on the pitch, so we missed that pinch of luck, but it also leaves us aware because in any case we have proven that we are a real team. We behaved like professionals on the pitch, as a real group, so there is only hope for the future. After today against Milan, we certainly saw growth at group level and at a team level and we will go to Florence to win 3 points for the first time without fear and with the desire that we put into these two matches, hoping to have that luck that we missed today. Today I entered in the second half and I’m not fully satisfied with the performance because I wanted to win and today it didn’t happen. It didn’t go the way we wanted, but in any case I tried to give what the team needed, to sacrifice, I tried to fight alongside my teammates and in the end, it went like this, this is football.”
