Napoli 3-3 AC Milan Women: Lead lost twice as Rossonere claim just one point

By: Isak Möller

AC Milan Women were held to a 3-3 draw in their away game against Napoli on Saturday afternoon, despite having the lead twice.

It has been a rough start to the season for Suzanne Bakker and her side, clinching a mere seven points in the first seven games. Even worse, the form seems to be declining as with today’s game included, they haven’t won in the last three games (1D, 2L).

In the derby against Inter last week, the Rossonere only had themselves to blame for the 0-3 defeat after missing several good chances, while conceding two penalties and getting a red card. They didn’t exactly make things better today either.

After just five minutes of play, the former Milan player Chante Dompig opened the scoring for the hosts. In fairness to the Rossonere, it was a cracking finish from outside the box to stun Sally Rainey in goal, so not much could be done.

Milan responded in the best way possible as Sara Kanutte Fornes pounced on a huge mistake by the Napoli defence, tapping in the equaliser after 16 minutes of play. Just ten minutes later, Abi Brighton found the striker on a corner, heading it home nicely for an early brace.

The Rossonere played well after that and headed into the break with a 2-1 lead. It wasn’t a poor start to the second half, but in the 58th minute, a really poor offside trap (of sorts) meant Napoli only had to play one pass to play Kinga Kozak through, and she made no mistakes.

Sloppy defending that Milan thought they had cancelled out in the 78th minute after a lovely move. Thea Kyvåg found Christy Grimshaw in the box with a great cross and the veteran headed it to Emma Koivisto, who in turn headed it into the back of the net.

The lead only lasted about six minutes, though, as Napoli suddenly had loads of space on the right flank and played a smart low cross into the box. Considering the lack of coverage on the flank, the Milan players at least should have kept tabs on things in the box, but they didn’t.

And so, Michela Giordano made it 3-3 and that was also the final result in the end. Two points dropped for Milan against another struggling side.