Naples: Coach Maurizio Sarri was sent off as Napoli wasted a chance to return to the top of Serie ‘A’ when they were held 1-1 at home by AC Milan in a tense encounter on Monday.
The hosts, 4-0 winners at San Siro earlier in the campaign, went ahead in the 39th minute when Lorenzo Insigne’s 25-metre effort took a wicked deflection off Ignazio Abate and wrong-footed goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Milan levelled five minutes later with their first shot on target, the unmarked Giacomo Bonaventura turning the ball in at the far post after it was unwittingly headed into his path by home defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The home side dominated the second half but became edgy as they struggled to score a second goal, with Sarri being dismissed for persistent dissent.
Milan almost ended Napoli’s unbeaten home league record late on when Keisuke Honda's powerful low drive was turned around the post by goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic insists the fallen Serie ‘A’ giants can fight for a place in next season’s Champions League.
“After seven games so far this year, we’ve picked up a lot of points. If we keep on playing with this kind of concentration, we can fight for third place,” he added.
