Mario Balotelli lost a personal battle with Pepe Reina as Napoli beat AC Milan 2-1, their first win at San Siro in 27 years to go joint top of the Serie A.

Diego Maradona was in the visiting team when Napoli last won this fixture in 1986 and South American pair Miguel Britos and Gonzalo Higuain scored the goals to stun Milan 2-1 on home turf on Sunday night.
An end-to-end game, which saw Napoli stay 100 per cent perfect with four wins from four games and join Roma in a share of first place, was most notable for the duel between the mercurial Balotelli and visiting keeper Reina.
The on-loan Liverpool man flicked Balotelli’s second-half penalty wide to put paid to the striker’s flawless record from the spot but, after being thwarted from open play time and time again, the irate Italian did sneak home a late consolation before seeing red after the final whistle.
The fact Napoli scored at San Siro after just six minutes would have been remarkable had the real story not been their failure to score twice beforehand.
There were 45 seconds on the clock when Marek Hamsik failed to feed Higuain for an easy tap-in and moments later Valon Behrami clipped over an open goal when put through by Federico Insigne.
Milan were at sixes and sevens and, with their defence standing like statues, Raul Albiol clipped a cross into Britos for a simple headed finish.
The restart allowed Milan the chance to regroup and Balotelli tested Reina with an angled drive off his left boot before whipping the ball past a post from a free-kick.
The hosts found some more bite in the middle of the park and Valter Birsa began to cut inside from the left wing to help Balotelli and Alessandro Matri.
Another premium opportunity fell to Balotelli on the half-hour mark, but his right-footed volley flew high into the stands.
There was concern for Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri before the break as Balotelli sat down hurt in the middle of the pitch.
He was able to play on but he might, however, have preferred to stay in the changing rooms and avoid the intense frustration that followed the interval.
The second half was eight minutes old when Higuain exploded forward to shoot straight at Christian Abbiati’s outstretched glove.
The light touch was not enough to keep the ball out of his goal, though, and the travelling fans roared again.
They jeered when Matri made a mess of finishing off Balotelli’s clever backhee,l but hush descended in the 62nd minute when Milan were awarded a penalty for Albiol’s pull on Balotelli.
The Italy striker had never before missed from the spot in 22 career attempts but saw his precious run end as Reina dived the right way to deny him.
Balotelli did not let his head drop and continued to carve out chances, forcing a solid parry from Reina before dancing on to Matri’s through-ball to clatter the bar.
The battle of wills between Reina and Balotelli continued into the dying stages and the Spaniard pushed a venomous shot behind for a corner before the striker appealed – unsuccessfully – for another penalty following a tussle with Giandomenico Mesto.
He could perhaps feel vindicated when his right-footed finish beat Reina in stoppage time but his evening would end with a needless red card for dissent as Napoli celebrated a famous victory.

According to Foxsports

Jordan Ayew netted a late penalty to set up a nervous final few minutes, but the Premier League side will fly home happy after a confident performance in Europe.

Arsene Wenger’s men earned a win in their last visit to the Stade Velodrome back in 2011, and they replicated they feat on Wednesday, Walcott finding the net with a close-range volley before Ramsey wrapped things up with a fine individual effort after the break.

Jordan Ayew grabbed a late consolation from the penalty spot for the hosts, but Arsenal held on to claim all three points.

Elie Baup made just one change to the Marseille side that drew 1-1 with Toulouse on Saturday, Andre Ayew replacing Florian Thauvin on the left-hand side of midfield.

Arsenal’s only alteration came in defence, with manager Arsene Wenger – who has seen his side win five of their last six competitive outings – opting to select the experienced Per Mertesacker in favour of Carl Jenkinson.

Marseille made a bright start to proceedings with Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena both testing Wojciech Szczesny in the early going.

Arsenal responded quickly however, Theo Walcott forcing Steve Mandanda into a save with a close-range effort after beating left-back Jeremy Morel for pace.

Still, it was the hosts that continued to dictate play. Valbuena volleyed over before Andre Ayew headed narrowly wide after an excellent right-wing cross from Dimitri Payet.

The visitors struggled to gain a foothold in the midfield, with Valbuena and 21-year-old Giannelli Imbula particularly impressive for Baup’s men.

And Marseille almost got their reward for a positive display shortly before the break, Gignac heading just over the bar at the near post after powering onto a Payet corner.

Baup’s side continued in the ascendancy straight after the break, Rod Fanni volleying inches wide of the post after good work down the right from Alaixys Romao.

Arsenal remained an attacking threat, though, and they almost took the lead in superb fashion, Kieran Gibbs denied by a fantastic reaction save from Mandanda after latching on to a deft backheel from Mesut Ozil.

The game quickly became stretched, with both sides crafting regular goalscoring opportunities, Payet keeping Szczesny busy with a fierce drive, before Jack Wilshere drew a near-post stop from Mandanda at the other end.

Arsenal never looked settled at the back, and they had Gibbs to thank for keeping them level as he showed great awareness to head a Payet cross off the line after miscommunication between Mertesacker and Szczesny.

But Marseille were finally made to pay for their profligacy 19 minutes into the second half, Walcott firing a magnificent volley into the top corner after Morel had failed to deal with Gibbs’ far-post cross.

Payet and Valbeuna both then went close as the Ligue 1 club searched for an equaliser, but it was Arsenal who proved the more clinical of the two sides, Ramsey securing the points as he jinked through the home defence before sending a precise low shot beyond the grasp of Mandanda.

Marseille did get one back in injury time, though, Jordan Ayew scoring from 12 yards after Laurent Koscielny had felled Andre Ayew in the box.

According to Goal

BVB saw goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller and coach Jurgen Klopp sent off as Rafa Benitez’s side secured a narrow win.

Napoli kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

The Italians opened the scoring early on as Gonzalo Higuain nodded home and the hosts’ task was made infinitely easier just before half-time as Mats Hummels left the field injured and Roman Weidenfeller inexplicably handled outside the box to earn himself a red card.

Dortmund’s threat was significantly blunted by those blows – allied to Jurgen Klopp’s dismissal to the stands – and they were helpless to prevent a fantastic long-rang free kick from Lorenzo Insigne doubling Napoli’s lead.

But there was still time for the 10-man Germans to grab a late consolation when Juan Camilo Zuniga flicked a cross into his own net with five minutes of normal time remaining.

With no injury worries of note among his squad, Rafael Benitez named a strong, attacking line-up including the likes of Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon. The visitors, meanwhile, named a patched-up starting XI due to the absences of Ilkay Gundogan, Lukasz Piszczek and Sebastian Kehl.

Despite the makeshift nature of Klopp’s team, Dortmund undoubtedly made the better start in Naples. But the hosts responded in kind, with a five-minute spell of pressure leading to Insigne driving narrowly wide before Higuain was denied one-on-one by a brilliant Hummels tackle.

The topsy-turvy nature of the first half did not let up, with Lewandowski the recipient of the next clear opportunity. The Poland striker latched onto a fabulous throughball to sneak into the box but could not beat the sprawling Pepe Reina in the Napoli goal.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, last year’s Champions League runners-up were punished for that miss in the very next attack. Zuniga picked the ball up on the left-hand side before swinging in an inch-perfect cross that Higuain nonchalantly headed into the far corner of the goal to send the home crowd into raptures.

On the touchline, Dortmund coach Klopp remonstrated angrily with the fourth official over his failure to allow Neven Subotic back onto the pitch following a head injury, but his rant only served to bring him a red card.

Dortmund responded in bullish fashion when they received a further blow just before half-time, replacing injured centre-back Hummels with forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But things went from bad to worse seconds later as goalkeeper Weidenfeller rushed out of his box to meet the ball but could only handle to prevent Higuain breaking through and deservedly saw red.

Jakub Blaszczykowski subsequently made way for substitute shot-stopper Mitchell Langerak before the break.
Dortmund began the second half understandably deeper in an attempt to nullify their opponents’ numerical advantage but were lucky to avoid conceding again on the hour mark, as a rifled Insigne cross bounced off the knee of Hamsik six yards out.

However, it mattered little in the end, as Insigne ensured the Italians would take a two-goal lead in fabulous fashion. The 22-year-old produced an unstoppable free-kick from 30 yards out that rattled the crossbar on the way past a helpless Langerak.

Aubameyang upped the stakes in terms of audacious efforts in the immediate aftermath as he struck the bar from distance before Dries Mertens also got involved as his clever free kick to the near post almost snuck in.

Dortmund were given hope in the dying moments as Zuniga needlessly swung at a cross into the box, to leave Reina no chance of stopping the ball bouncing over the line off the post.

But the visitors could not launch a late comeback to avoid defeat as the home side hung on to lay down a marker in the group.

According to Goal

Neil Lennon’s men spurned more than their fair share of chances and were eventually punished when the hosts rallied in the final minutes of their Champions League opener.

Emilio Izaguirre’s own goal and a Sulley Muntari effort gave AC Milan a 2-0 Champions League win over Celtic at San Siro on Wednesday.

Cristian Zapata’s strike deflected off the Bhoys defender to put the hosts ahead after 82 minutes and, with the visitors pushing for a way back into the game, the Ghanaian doubled the Italian side’s lead three minutes later to get the Rossoneri off to a winning start in Group H.

The well-documented Milan injury list meant that Massimiliano Allegri was forced into a number of changes, with Stephan El Shaarawy, Kaka, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo and Ignazio Abate among the absentees.

Slovenia international Valter Birsa made his debut for the club while Antonio Nocerino partnered Nigel de Jong in midfield for the clash.

Celtic had injuries of their own to contend with and were unable to name James Forrest or Joe Ledley in their matchday squad, although Adam Matthews shook off an ankle problem to start.

Mario Balotelli was quickly among the action, volleying an effort at Fraser Forster after three minutes, but the Celtic goalkeeper was equal to the task as he palmed the strike away.

Celtic’s first chance came from a indirect free kick inside the area following a backpass but Charlie Mulgrew saw his shot deflected over the crossbar.

Alessandro Matri’s header then forced another good save from Forster before Nocerino fired narrowly over just after the half-hour mark.

Balotelli again threatened a minute from the break when his low, swerving effort almost deflected into the far corner of Forster’s goal.

Giorgos Samaras had the first opportunity of the second half for Celtic, with the Greek firing just past Christian Abbiati’s post while Muntari headed just over for the hosts a minute after the hour mark.

After a lengthy period of Milan pressure, Anthony Stokes crashed a free kick against the crossbar for the visitors 10 minutes from time with Abbiati beaten.

However, two minutes later, Milan had their lead courtesy of a Zapata effort from outside the area that deflected off Izaguirre and in.

Muntari was then on hand three minutes later to make it two, bundling home from close-range after Balotelli’s free kick had come back off the post to ensure that Milan came away with the three points.

According to Goal