Serie A | Milan 2-1 Napoli: Pulisic inspirational as leaders crumble

Christian Pulisic created a goal for Alexis Saelemaekers and scored another, but the Pervis Estupinan red card let Napoli back in, as 10-man Milan held on for a tense 2-1 victory.

The Rossoneri were on a roll after four straight wins in all competition, scoring nine goals and conceding zero. Rafael Leao returned to the bench after six weeks out, leaving only Ardon Jashari on the treatment table. The Partenopei were the only team with a perfect Serie A record, but were decimated by injuries, losing Leonardo Spinazzola, Mathias Olivera, Romelu Lukaku, Alessandro Buongiorno and Amir Rrahmani, so Miguel Gutierrez and Luca Marianucci were thrown into the starting XI for their debuts.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

It was the perfect start for the hosts, as Christian Pulisic started the run from inside his own half, flew down the left and shrugged off Marianucci’s tackle to roll across for the easiest of Alexis Saelemaekers tap-ins at the back post.

Napoli fought back, as Mike Maignan made two saves in 10 seconds on the Gutierrez header at the back post and Scott McTominay angled drive.

While the Partenopei kept possession for long periods, Milan remained dangerous, Pulisic sending Youssouf Fofana clear to blast over the bar.

They doubled their lead when Strahinja Pavlovic rode weak challenges down the left and pulled back, Fofana laying it off for Pulisic to sweep home from eight yards.

Fikayo Tomori pulled out at the last second to avoid fouling McTominay inside the penalty area, while Saelemaekers stung Alex Meret’s gloves at the near post.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo also tested Maignan when acrobatically controlling a Kevin De Bruyne ball over the top, while Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa turned a free header well wide on Matteo Politano’s cross.

After the restart, Anguissa and McTominay both went for the header on a cross from the right, forcing a Maignan reaction save, but then Pervis Estupinan dragged Di Lorenzo back in the six-yard box for a penalty. The referee added a red card following the VAR On-Field Review, as Estupinan made no attempt to play the ball, preventing the clear scoring opportunity. De Bruyne sent Maignan the wrong way to convert from the spot.

Rafael Leao made his Serie A season debut, having been out since the Coppa Italia win over Bari on August 17.

Di Lorenzo nodded an Anguissa cross over, while Milan lost Fikayo Tomori to a muscular injury. Rafael Leao wasted a promising counter-attack, and Rabiot charged down the Eljif Elmas finish after squirming away between a crowd of players.

Noa Lang cut inside from the left for a right-foot shot smothered by Maignan, but he was beaten by a David Neres screamer that was deflected to clip the top of the far post in stoppages.

Neres saw another long-range curler palmed round the upright by Maignan during a late Napoli siege, but 10-man Milan held on for the victory.

Milan 2-1 Napoli

Saelemaekers 3 (M), Pulisic 31 (M), De Bruyne pen 60 (N)

Sent off: Estupinan 57 (M)