This match pitted together the previous two Scudetto winners, and the atmosphere inside the ground was befitting of such an occasion.
Stefano Pioli’s side came into this contest under a considerable amount of pressure following two chastening defeats against Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain but made an ideal start here in Campania.
The evergreen Olivier Giroud ended a run of 10 matches without a goal for club and country when he rose unchallenged in the box to meet Christian Pulisic’s cross with a header that slipped through Alex Meret's grasp.
Napoli should have hit back almost immediately through Matteo Politano, who hit the side-netting from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s cross.
Meanwhile, Mario Rui could have levelled the scoreline in emphatic fashion himself with a stunning long-range effort that sailed over the bar.
However, it was Giroud who doubled the Rossoneri’s advantage after another clinical header, this time meeting Davide Calabria’s delivery just past the half-hour mark.
Tijjani Reijnders should have added a third before the break, but opened up his body too much and saw his close-range effort go over the bar.
Politano halved the deficit in stunning fashion just five minutes into the second half, brilliantly weaving his way into the box and powering a thunderous finish past Mike Maignan.
The match was being played at a scintillating pace, as Maignan made a fine save to deny Giovanni Di Lorenzo, while Kvaratskhelia rifled his attempt over the bar after an error by the Rossoneri shot-stopper.
An equaliser did not seem far away, and the Partenopei faithful were in raptures after Giacomo Raspadori's stunning free-kick whipped past Maignan. It was the least that Rudi Garcia’s men deserved, and the technique on Raspadori's set-piece was something to behold.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men late on when Natan was shown a very harsh second yellow card for a collision with Luka Romero, but the hosts held on for a point regardless, although Calabria should have stolen victory for Milan, but inexplicably headed wide at the far post in stoppage time.
A draw was a fair outcome for the endeavour both teams showed in the 90 minutes, as Napoli and Milan consolidated their positions in fourth and third place respectively.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matteo Politano (Napoli)
