Napoli brilliantly recovered from two goals down to beat AC Milan 3-2 as Carlo Ancelotti got the better of his former employers at Stadio San Paolo on Saturday.

Piotr Zielinski scored twice in 14 second-half minutes before substitute Dries Mertens capped off the comeback to consign the Rossoneri to a deflating defeat in their first outing of the new Serie A season.

Gennaro Gattuso had appeared set to record a memorable victory over Ancelotti - under whom he won the Champions League twice as a player - when David Calabria doubled a lead earlier opened by Giacomo Bonaventura.

But the influential Zielinski soon took command of the contest with two fine finishes and the hosts' dominance was rewarded through Mertens' 80th-minute winner, continuing Napoli's unbeaten run in this fixture to eight Serie A meetings.