Napoli sealed a 4-2 victory over A.C. Milan on Matchday 2. A first-half brace by newcomer Arkadiusz Milik on his home debut initially stole the show, but it was the performance by a certain ex-Merengue that left the lasting impression on the Partenopei faithful.
A.C. Milan and Napoli entered Matchday 2 coming off two vastly different results the week prior.
For the Partenopei, they opened the 2016-17 Serie A campaign against Massimo Oddo’s Pescara. Handed a 2-nil deficit entering the tunnel, Napoli managed to grab a point at the Adriatico thanks to Dries Mertens’ second half brace. Life after Gonzalo Higuain was not off to such a promising start, but Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli knew a home fixture in the confines of the Stadio San Paolo posed a problem for the next opponent, A.C. Milan.
For Milan, Vincenzo Montella nearly squandered a two-goal lead late against Torino. A Carlos Bacca hat-trick nearly went to waste as Gabriel Paletta forced recent Azzurri call-up Gianluigi Donnarumma to save three points with a miraculous penalty stop on Andrea Belotti. Despite some lapses in the final 15 minutes, Montella was pleased with the result and was hoping to carry that momentum into the important away fixture against Napoli.
Yesterday, Napoli played host to the Rossoneri. Polish forward Arkadiusz Milik opened his Napoli account with not one, but two goals in front of the home crowd before the interval. His home debut went as good as he’d hope, and the three points appeared all but wrapped up. However, Montella’s men would not go quietly into the international break as M’Baye Niang and Suso leveled at 2-2 just ten minutes into the second half. Fortunately for Sarri and Napoli, they are loaded with attacking threats, one of them being José Callejón.
NAPLES, ITALY – AUGUST 27: Napoli’s player Jose Callejon celebrate the victory after the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio San Paolo on August 27, 2016 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
When the game looked to be escaping Napoli, up stepped the ex-Real Madrid man to leave his mark on the outcome. Dries Mertens, like Callejón, seemed to always be in a threatening position in the attacking third. Mertens peppered Donnarumma all match long, forcing the teen into making save after save. Eventually, the 17-year old keeper could not bail out the lackluster Milan defense as his initial save was slotted home by the Spanish winger to give Napoli the lead 3-2 in the 74th minute.
A minute later, Juraj Kucka was sent off on dissent, leaving his Milan compatriots down a man and a goal. Minutes before the ninety minutes were up, Niang also got sent off by referee Paolo Valeri. Callejón would later take advantage of the nine-man Rossoneri and tap in his second to seal the 4-2 victory for Napoli.
.@J21Calleti: MotM vs AC Milan, Rating 9.07, Shots(OT) 2(2), Goals 2, Key passes 1, Assists 1 @sscnapoli http://pic.twitter.com/z4mLrpWi9s
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 27, 2016
The former Espanyol winger has a diverse skill-set consisting of speed, ball control, the ability to beat his man and of course an eye for goal. Over the past few years, Callejón — like many others — often got lost in the shuffle while Gonzalo Higuain took Napoli by storm. Yet, supporters knew just how lethal he was once he got on the ball.
Against Milan, he played a solid ninety minutes of action and really put on some display of football. Since arriving in 2013, Callejón has been a bargain at 10 million euros, and his Man of the Match performance last night under the lights of a crowded San Paolo proved his worth to the Azzurri once again.
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