Sacchi: Milan ’embarrassingly poor’ in defence but Napoli must fix ‘mistake’

NAPOLI, ITALY – MARCH 30: Matteo Politano of Napoli celebrates after scoring his side first goal, beside Strahinja Pavlovic of AC Milan shows his disappointment during the Serie A match between Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on March 30, 2025 in Napoli, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Arrigo Sacchi saw an ’embarrassingly poor Milan defence’ against Napoli and feels Antonio Conte will fight for the title until the very end even if the Partenopei have a ‘mistake’ to be fixed.

Napoli secured a 2-1 win over Milan on Sunday, remaining three points below table leaders Inter.

The Partenopei scored two early goals with Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku, but Sacchi was shocked by Milan’s defensive approach.

“It wasn’t the best Napoli performance of the season, but it was enough to overcome an embarrassingly poor Milan in defence and remain in the title race,” the ex-Milan coach wrote in his Gazzetta dello Sport column.

Sacchi: Milan ’embarrassingly poor’ in defence but Napoli must fix ‘mistake’

“Conte’s team seemed a bit sluggish, which is understandable. They are young but fight like crazy for every ball. They’re giving their all to chase their dream.

“Conte is pushing and demanding the maximum effort. He knows that Inter are incredibly strong, and it won’t be easy to keep up with the Nerazzurri. But Conte is relentless and doesn’t give his opponents an inch. You’ll see that Napoli will be sharper in the coming matches.”

Sacchi feels Milan left too much space for Napoli, especially in the first half.

“You can’t help but throw your hands in the air when you see errors like those leading to Napoli goals. How is it possible to be positioned like that?” he asked sarcastically.

“Even in the second half, when there was a slight reaction, the team seemed disorganised and chaotic. The reality is that if things don’t work from the start, it’s very difficult to fix them along the way.”

Napoli have won two games from the last eight in Serie A and Sacchi believes they still have one thing to fix to challenge Inter until the end of the campaign.

“I expected Napoli to manage the field better, especially in the second half,” Sacchi admitted.

“Instead, they conceded too much when they were two goals ahead, and this mistake must be fixed quickly.”

Milan are currently four points below a European placement, and Italian sources believe the Rossoneri will terminate Sergio Conceiçao’s contract at the end of the season and hire a new coach for 2025-26.