#napoli

#napoli

Napoli dominated the ball early on and saw Eljif Elmas' near-post attempt smothered by visiting captain Lorenzo Montipo, but by the 27th minute, the champions were 2-0 down. Martin Frese met Cheikh Niasse's centre with an inventive backheel to put Verona ahead in the 16th minute, then Gift Orban - who had been heavily involved in the opening goal - stroked home from the penalty spot after Alessandro Buongiorno was penalised for handball.

Napoli have been heavily linked with a loan move for Real Madrid midfielder Franco Mastantuono, but Madrid have closed the door on any departure, according to Marca. Mastantuono, 18, only moved from River Plate for €45 million in the summer and has already become Los Blancos' second-youngest debutant in the Champions League and their fourth youngest goal-scorer in LaLiga history. Napoli had been enquiring about a loan deal as they seek midfield reinforcements, but their interest was quickly quashed before any concrete offer was made.

SSC Napoli firmly condemns the behaviour of AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, who, during the Italian Super Cup semifinal, in the presence of dozens of people pitchside and on live television, repeatedly and severely insulted Gabriele Oriali with offensive language. "We hope this completely out of control attack does not go unnoticed, especially since, with 33 cameras involved in the event's production, it is impossible not to witness what happened."

We were too worried and too fearful, we needed to work hard. We have to play well, even in the difficult moments. We have to manage situations, and we definitely have to improve. We have to be better at managing these moments, we have to tackle them with experience. We can't lose courage or become overwhelmed. If you play like that, you run the risk of conceding, and we conceded.

You could see straight away that they were out for revenge, keen on proving themselves against a strong team. Indeed, the Rossonere created the first dangerous chance of the game in the 23rd minute, as Thea Kyvåg found Evelyn Ijeh in the box. The Swede headed the ball towards goal but ended up hitting the crossbar, coming very close to giving Milan the lead.

Antonio Conte could be without Stanislav Lobotka for Napoli's Serie A match against Juventus this weekend after the midfielder suffered a muscle injury on Wednesday. Lobotka was set to be on the bench for Napoli's Coppa Italia tie against Cagliari, but he picked up a leg injury during the warm-up and was forced to miss the game. Conte's side won 9-8 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 in normal time, with Lorenzo Lucca on target for Napoli.

The Scudetto race last year was even, but it always seemed like it would be one of two teams. This year, with AC Milan involved, it is not as clear. It would be nice for Milan to be in a position where they could only look down. However, this is not the case. Instead, the race for the Scudetto sees several teams on a near enough level playing field, and every goal counts.

"Billy Gilmour will undergo surgery in London on Monday, accompanied by Gennaro De Luca from the club's medical staff," a statement on Napoli's website read.