AC Milan 1-0 Napoli: Hernandez first half strike earns hosts victory over defending Champions

AC Milan defeated visiting champions Napoli 1-0 on Sunday, with Theo Hernandez scoring in the first half, keeping Stefano Pioli's side unbeaten in Serie A since the turn of the year.

The France defender controlled Rafael Leao's brilliant pass on the edge of the box and fired low past Napoli goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini to give Milan the lead in the 25th minute.

Milan, third in the standings with 52 points, extended their league unbeaten streak to nine games, including seven victories.

They are eight points behind leaders Inter Milan and one behind second-placed Juventus, both of whom have a game in hand.

"We worked very well in the first half, then in the second we lost some distance, but we couldn't imagine not conceding anything to Napoli, who have a lot of quality," Pioli told a press conference.

Walter Mazzarri's team, which is ninth with 35 points, travelled to Milan without striker Victor Osimhen, who was competing for Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast.

Pioli, meanwhile, had to make an early substitution when defender Davide Calabria was forced off with an adductor problem, as the coach confirmed after the game, and Alessandro Florenzi replaced the Milan captain in the 37th minute.

With Italy manager Luciano Spalletti watching from the stands, Napoli had an early chance when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia squared the ball to forward Giovanni Simeone inside the box, but the Argentine shot wide with his first touch.

But Milan were the better team, and after Hernandez opened the scoring, Leao could have doubled their lead three minutes later with a long-range shot that forced Gollini to save.

Napoli, which had no shots on goal in the first 45 minutes, showed more intent after the break, but substitute Matteo Politano narrowly missed the target from outside the box on the hour mark.

They had another chance one minute before full-time when Napoli midfielder Jesper Lindstrom sent in a cross that deflected off Milan defender Jan-Carlo Simic and hit the post, narrowly avoiding an own goal.

Napoli have gone five league away games without scoring a goal, their longest such streak since 1979 (a run of six).

On Saturday, they will host Genoa, who are currently in 12th place.

Milan will travel to Monza in the league on February 18, after hosting Stade Rennais in the Europa League on Thursday.

Earlier on Sunday, Fiorentina defeated Frosinone 5-1 at home, their first win in five Serie A matches.

Bologna defeated Lecce 4-0, while Atalanta defeated Genoa 4-1 in the day's other matches.

SportsLigue