Rossoneri Round-up for 27 August: Leonardo says that Milan can take ‘positives’ from the Napoli match

Leonardo said that Milan can take positives from the loss at Napoli, despite the way that the match ended.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Leonardo said:

This result certainly leaves a bitter taste in the mouth after a very good first half.

There are still many positives we can take from this. We played on level terms with a side that amassed over 90 points last season and who brought in a great Coach like Carlo Ancelotti.

It’s a difficult defeat to accept, but there are positives there too. We saw the possibility of three points in the second half and the moment they got back into it for 2-1 was the most difficult. Napoli also introduced Dries Mertens and the momentum swung towards them.

He’s right that Milan looked much different in the first half, as they finished their chances while Napoli were wasteful. However, a team like Napoli was always going to make life difficult for Milan.

If Milan had come back from being 2-0 down to draw level before surrendering a third goal, would everyone be this upset? Probably not. Napoli look to be title challengers again, and opening against them on the road is a tough place to begin a season, Serie A, to borrow a phrase from our English friends, is a marathon, not a spring. No use getting this worked up about a loss against a team that we were all pretty sure we’d have problems with.

On to the links.

AC Milan and Italian Football Links

Five things we learned about Milan after their loss to Napoli. [AC Milan Offside]

Ratings of the Milan players in the match. [AC Milan Offside]

Things fall apart. Recap of the Napoli match. [AC Mian Offside]

World Football Links

The Philadelphia Union won 1-0 over the New England Revolution thanks to a Cory Burke CAR assisted goal. [Brotherly Game]

In Mexico, Monterrey gave up a late equalizer to draw against Monarcas Morelia for the third straight time. [FMF State of Mind]

Nine-man Club América scored an equalizer to draw level with Pumas UNAM. [FMF State of Mind]

Reading FC got a dubious late penalty to draw 1-1 with Aston Villa. [7500 to Holte]

Five stats from Everton’s 2-2 draw with AFC Bournemouth. [Royal Blue Mersey]