Il Nuovo Postiglione - Napoli stumble at Udinese to leave AC Milan top in Serie A

Napoli's three consecutive league win sequence came to a halt when, after having two goals disallowed, Udinese stole the show thanks to Jurgen Ekkelenkamp's decisive 73rd minute goal.

Injury-ravaged Napoli will be feeling this was an opportunity missed as a win would have lifted them top of the table following AC Milan's 2-2 draw with Sassuolo earlier.

The two teams had gone into the weekend level on points, with Milan in the driving seat on goal difference.

As it is, they now have a one-point cushion over Napoli, although third-placed Inter Milan can end the weekend on top if they win at Genoa later.

In Milan, French forward Armand Lauriente secured the 77th minute leveller for Sassuolo, who had taken an early lead via Ismael Kone.

Milan fought back with Davide Bartesaghi equalising after the half hour. Having opened his Serie A scoring account, the 19-year-old defender added a second after the break, striking from a tight angle only for Lauriente to seal the away team a share of the points.

"We played a good match," Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri said.

"People might think we dropped two points, I think we gained a point that could be important," he told DAZN.

"We still need to improve, because we're conceding too many goals. But we're in the top four, that was our objective at the start of the season."

AC Milan, along with Inter, Bolgona and Napoli, will be missing from league action next weekend as they take part in the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

D.Campanella--INP