AC Milan’s triumphant return to the Champions League semifinals after a 16-year absence was sealed by Olivier Giroud’s astute efficiency, whose first-half purpose towards Napoli on Tuesday culminated in a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 combination victory.
Despite enduring a relentless barrage of stress, Milan’s steadfast protection proved impervious to Napoli’s advances. This historic win marks a major milestone for Milan, who final claimed the coveted trophy in 2007.
Napoli battled till the top however couldn’t break down the resilient Milan defence till striker Victor Osimhen equalized three minutes into stoppage time with a bullet header however it was too late because the referee ended the match seconds later.
Seven-time European champions Milan will now face both Inter Milan or Benfica, who meet on Wednesday on the San Siro with the Italian aspect main 2-0 from the primary leg. Milan coach Stefano Pioli stated he would welcome a semifinal towards their metropolis rivals.
“It would look like that, as Inter won the first leg so well. These will be another two difficult, exciting and wonderful clashes in the Champions League. We’ve done a great deal and don’t want to stop now,” he advised Mediaset.
This was the third assembly between Milan and Napoli in 16 days, with Pioli’s visiting aspect having claimed a 4-0 victory towards the runaway Serie A leaders on April 2.
After Milan received the quarterfinal first leg 1-0, Napoli pushed for the opening purpose from the beginning because the guests had been compelled to defend deep towards an attacking onslaught.
“I think the small advantage of the 1-0 in the first leg helped us in one sense and blocked us in another,” Pioli stated. “We chose, considering Osimhen was there, to sit a little deeper and not allow him those spaces where he can be devastating.”
Milan struggled in a raucous environment, with loud boos resounding all through the stadium each time they gained possession, however they held off an aggressive Napoli aspect for a lot of the match with a powerful defensive show.
Milan had the prospect to take the lead with a penalty after 22 minutes after Mario Rui clattered into Rafael Leao however goalkeeper Alex Meret dived to cease Giroud’s low strike.
Meret saved Napoli once more when he parried Giroud’s try contained in the field along with his foot 5 minutes later.
As a results of the extreme stress exerted by the hosts, Milan had been in a position to exploit the holes within the dwelling defence and went forward via Giroud simply earlier than the interval.
Leao sprinted with the ball from his personal half previous the Napoli rearguard earlier than rolling it throughout to Giroud who slotted dwelling from shut vary.
Napoli had a glimmer of hope eight minutes from time when Fikayo Tomori dealt with the ball contained in the field, however Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s penalty was saved by Mike Maignan.
Osimhen was shackled all evening till his added-time header however it got here too late for Napoli and their upset followers.
“I saw an enormous sacrifice from my players, we trusted each other and our way of playing football to overcome a great Napoli side that caused us problems over both legs. We won it with heart, energy and belief,” Pioli stated.
Napoli, who had been within the final eight for the primary time, are in a mini-slump with no victory of their final three matches in all competitions.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
