Napoli Vs AC Milan [1–0] – Serie A 2025/2026: Antonio Conte Adjustments Break The Deadlock – Tactical Analysis

Napoli hosted AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for Gameweek 31 of Serie A 2025/2026 in a clash that was decisive for the second spot in the league.

The match ended with a late 1-0 win for Napoli following an intense tactical contest that saw numerous in-game adjustments from both sides as they tried to surprise each other and adapt to the various situations.

The win allows Napoli to climb to second place, ahead of Milan, and be seven points behind Inter Milan, leaving Milan in third with a two-point gap.

Milan officially lost their Scudetto hopes following this loss and will have to win their remaining games to guarantee a top-four finish and avoid being chased down by Como or Juventus, who are not too far from the third spot.

In this tactical analysis, we focus on Napoli’s successful second-half changes and on how and why both teams’ tactics failed to make a difference in the first half.

Napoli Vs Milan Lineups & Formations

Antonio Conte started the match using a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Vanja Milinković-Savić as goalkeeper and a defensive line of Juan Jesus, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Mathías Olivera.

The midfield comprised Stanislav Lobotka and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa as central midfielders, Leonardo Spinazzola and Miguel Gutiérrez as wing-backs, with Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay being the wide playmakers in support of Rasmus Højlund’s replacement, Giovane, as the main striker.

On the other side, Massimiliano Allegri opted for the usual 3-5-2 formation, with Mike Maignan as goalkeeper, Fikayo Tomori, Koni De Winter, and  Strahinja Pavlović as centre-backs, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Davide Bartesaghi as wing-backs.

The midfield was made up of Luka Modrić as a defensive midfielder, with Adrien Rabiot and Youssouf Fofana as central midfielders.

Upfront, the attacking duo was composed of Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Füllkrug.

Napoli Diverse & Efficient Attacking Plans Vs AC Milan’s Unsuccessful Attacking Performance

Napoli started the match with McTominay used as a second striker alongside, and sometimes just behind, Giovane.

That said, Napoli were unable to apply their initial aggressive high press as they are used to doing from the start.

That was partly because Milan did not build a lot from the back initially and used a high defensive line to try to keep Napoli away from their own half.

This led to Napoli’s aggressive initial attacks and high pressing being avoided; instead, Milan made the first few attacks on Napoli.

Milan used Nkunku as a left winger who advances to support Füllkrug but also retreats with the midfield line, forming a line of five and allowing Bartesaghi to retreat to form a defensive back-four, especially in the defensive phase, making it a 4-5-1 formation.

This change in formation in defence was made mainly to try to limit Napoli’s powerful midfield players, since playing with only three or four players in midfield would favour Napoli and give them the numerical superiority needed in that area.

Furthermore, instructing Nkunku to lean towards the left wing was intentional to focus on a 1v1 duel against Jesus, in an attempt to push him into committing errors, given that he was used on the right side as a left-footed defender, a position he is not used to.

Napoli New Attacking Approach Based On A Mobile Striker

Given the absence of Rasmus Højlund, Napoli were obliged to change the way they attack in order to remain dangerous and find ways to break Milan’s defence.

To do so, Conte knew he could not rely on Giovane as a target man or a stationary striker, since he lacked the characteristics needed to succeed in that role.

However, Giovane has the agility and acceleration needed to be very useful in attacking transitions and to act as a mobile striker, constantly moving without the ball to potentially receive through passes at the back of the defensive line.

Therefore, Conte instructed the midfielders and especially De Bruyne and McTominay to always keep an eye on Giovane’s movements and try to serve him with key through passes whenever possible instead of opting for long passes from defence or midfield.

This plan was obvious from the start, as Napoli created an action that showcased their attacking plans and gave an early idea of how they intended to break Milan’s defence.

The action started from midfield after De Bruyne received the ball from Anguissa and advanced with the ball while waiting for Giovane’s movement towards the space behind Milan’s defensive line.

This advance from the middle, rather than opting for instant long passes or advancing through the wings, was done on purpose in this action to execute that specific plan.

The through pass was accurate, and Giovane was able to follow it at the right time, but the only issue with this action was that Giovane was in an offside position at the moment the pass was launched.

Milan Fluid Transitions & Use Of Strahinja Pavlović As A Striker

Milan relied on fluid ball progression and on their players’ excellent ability to avoid Napoli players’ marking and to exploit numerical superiority.

The quick, accurate passing and the continuous off-ball movement from Milan’s players made it possible for them to avoid Napoli’s numerical superiority in certain areas and aggressive closing down attempts on the ball handler.

This helped Milan progress smoothly on more than one occasion and reach the box successfully.

However, what lacked these attacking actions was the final touch.

The following example highlights one of the times when Milan progressed from defence to attack in an impressive way, succeeding to avoid all Napoli’s closing down attempts through quick and short passes to surpass their lines of defence and reach the box.

As Nkunku received the ball on the left-wing, he was successful in cutting inside and passing towards Bartesaghi who was positioned inside Napoli’s penalty’s box as well and acted like a main striker, protecting the ball with his back to the goal and providing a first-time key pass to Pavlović.

This stresses on Milan’s capacity of driving their defensive players forward to have alternative solutions inside the box and confuse Napoli’s defenders who were expecting to only mark Milan’s attacking players.

That said, Pavlović obviously lacks the finishing ability needed to navigate the complicated, tight spaces in attacking areas and struggles with the obligation to make accurate yet quick enough decisions that require fluid coordination.

That’s why he failed to deal well with the opportunity he had in this example, as he received the ball using his left foot but failed to shoot when needed, while trying to dribble past Napoli’s defenders and giving away the ball using his right foot.

Milan continued attacking, with Füllkrug extremely valuable with his back to the goal.

He received passes, protected the ball, and made quick, efficient backward passes to help Milan launch quick attacking transitions.

But what the team lacked overall was the finishing touch, knowing that Milan created more than two successful attacking transitions in the first half that led to shots but lacked accuracy.

Napoli Vertical Passing Solution

Napoli’s issue, however, was the lack of consistency in vertical passes to follow Giovane’s key movements at the back of Milan’s defensive line.

The lack of such a pass limited Napoli’s attack, as they at times resorted to long passes, which were not always rewarding.

Conte realised at the end of the first half that relying on Giovane to receive long passes and play with his back to the goal was not a reliable idea, as Giovane failed to do so throughout the first half.

As soon as Conte instructed his players to repeat what they have been attempting initially in terms of vertical passing towards Giovane’s running direction, the latter was able to make the difference and got very close to scoring.

At the 35^th minute of the first half and after losing a lot of time in trying other solutions, Napoli succeeded in creating one of the most dangerous occasions of the match thanks to an interception from Olivera and a key vertical pass towards Giovane’s run, who got rid of marking and attacked the space behind Milan’s defensive line.

Unfortunately for him however, Pavlović was attentive and reactive enough to accelerate in a diagonal way and be able to deviate Giovane’s shot at a crucial timing.

Napoli Rewarding Second-Half Changes

The second half saw Napoli’s striker change his approach to movement and duels, becoming more dynamic, moving more frequently towards both wings to provide more inviting passing options for the ball holder, and becoming more powerful in his duels against Milan’s defenders.

This change in approach allowed Napoli to become more dangerous and create more attacking opportunities, mainly thanks to Giovane’s more valuable work in the final third.

That said, his efforts, though dangerous, were not fruitful as Milan’s goalkeeper saved most of the attempts.

Afterwards, Conte decided to opt for a plan B attacking plan by switching the position of McTominay and making him the false nine with De Bruyne being the advanced playmaker, Alisson Santos on the left wing, and Matteo Politano on the right wing in an attempt to score a late goal by benefiting from these players’ excellent one-vs-one dribbling and penetration abilities.

And in order to further prepare the conditions for such one-vs-one situations, Conte instructed Olivera to advance internally and not towards the left wing, as that would prevent the double marking on Alisson and would give him enough space to surpass his direct opponent.

These changes soon brought their fruit as Santos was not able to penetrate but succeeded in attracting two opponents before serving Olivera, who provided a passing option in half-space before crossing towards the far post, where Politano exploited De Winter’s wrong clearance and Bartesaghi’s passive marking to score a crucial goal.

Fofana’s decision to apply double marking on Santos while leaving Olivera advance while being totally unmarked made this whole attack possible, as Modrić was surprised by Olivera’s acceleration and was not able to prevent him from crossing.

Conclusion

Despite Milan’s final attempts and their attacking substitutions, they failed to disturb Napoli’s defence as the team retreated to protect their late advantage and were successful in doing so.

With this loss, Milan lost their hopes for battling for the title officially, and will need to ensure that they win the remaining games in order to not put their UEFA Champions League qualification at risk.