Napoli Fall 2-1 to Brest as Milinkovic-Savic Makes Debut

Lorenzo Lucca found the net for the second consecutive match and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made his debut, but Antonio Conte’s Napoli fell to a 2-1 defeat against Stade Brestois in a pre-season friendly.

The fixture marked the first outing for Milinkovic-Savic following his summer move from Torino, as Napoli continue to shape their squad ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Several new signings featured in the starting line-up, including Sam Beukema, Kevin De Bruyne, Lucca, and Noa Lang. However, the Azzurri were without key players such as Scott McTominay, Alessandro Buongiorno, Alex Meret, Matías Olivera, and Billy Gilmour, who were all deemed not fully fit.

David Neres had a number of early opportunities, while Giacomo Raspadori and Beukema also tested the goalkeeper, though without much effect.

It was Brest who opened the scoring in the 28th minute, as Ludovic Ajorque caught Amir Rrahmani off guard to slot home. Just four minutes later, Ajorque doubled the advantage with a well-placed header from a Romain Del Castillo cross.

De Bruyne came close to halving the deficit before the break with an audacious back-heel flick that struck the post.

Napoli eventually responded in the 63rd minute. Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s driving run set up Matteo Politano, whose low cross was tapped in by Lucca from close range.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa nearly drew Napoli level with a glancing header from another Politano delivery, which clipped the frame of the goal. De Bruyne also forced a difficult save with a powerful long-range strike in the closing stages.

Final Score
Napoli 1–2 Brest
Goals: Ajorque 28, 32 (B); Lucca 63 (N)

Napoli Starting XI
Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Beukema (Obaretin 72’), Spinazzola (Mazzocchi 83’); De Bruyne, Lobotka, Raspadori (Anguissa 67’); Neres (Politano 61’), Lucca (Lukaku 67’), Lang (Zanoli 76’)