[insert quick intro paragraph. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Missing DNA?
Over the two legs, Napoli maintained their identity but apparently lacked the notorious Champions League DNA. The home side attempted 23 shots, but only managed to hit the target with four of them.
After missing a sitter in the opening minute of the first leg, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia missed another glorious opportunity in the opening minute of the second half of the second leg. The Georgian did brilliantly to create the chance, splitting between Davide Calabria and Brahim Díaz before launching the ball high and wide of the far post. Kvaratskhelia made a similar play ten minutes later, this time splitting between Calabria and Rade Krunić before firing a left-footed volley over the bar.
Kvara, who was playing in his first ever UEFA Champions League competition this season, let alone his first Champions League Quarter-final, simply could not buy a goal. Napoli were awarded a penalty kick in the 80th minute after Fikayo Tomori inadvertently handled the ball while sliding to block Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s cross. The Georgian struck the ball well but caught too much of the goal. Magic Mike Maignan guessed correctly to push the ball aside.
While Kvaratskhelia missed Napoli’s best chances, the finishing was poor all around. Matteo Politano, Tanguy Ndombele, Hirving Lozano and Piotr Zielinski all had shots that missed the target. They all seemed to overhit the ball, as if they knew it would take a perfect strike to beat Maignan. Meanwhile, Mathias Olivera, who was also playing in his first ever Champions League, had two free headers in the second half and failed to hit the target on both occasions.
Tactical Defensive Masterclass
For the third time in two-and-a-half weeks, Stefano Pioli got the better of Luciano Spalletti. Like they did against Tottenham in the Round of 16, Milan set up to protect their 1-0 lead. Pioli instructed his midfielders to join Calabria and double-up on Kvaratskhelia. Similarly, Tomori and Simon Kjaer shadowed Victor Osimhen all over the park, negating the striker’s aerial threat.
Not to be outdone, Spalletti instructed his players to press high and to counterpress aggressively. Like in the first leg, Milan could hardly get out of their half in the opening 20 minutes of the match. However, that same aggression, combined with the occasional error, exposed the Azzurri to the counter-attack, which is Milan’s forte.
Both of Milan’s goals in the tie were scored on the break. On both occasions, with less than minues remaining in the first half, Milan punished Napoli for an error in the middle of the park.
Beast Awoken
Prior to Milan’s league victory over Napoli on the 2nd of April, Rafael Leão had managed no goals and only one assist in his previous 13 matches in all competitions. With the Napoli ultras staging a silent protest, Leão scored a brace in the 0-4 victory, giving Milan a psychological boost ahead of the Champions league Quarter-final tie.
The beast had been awoken. Since that victory, Leão has returned to the form that won him the Serie A MVP award last season. Though he did not score in the tie, the Portugal International was integral to Milan’s success, recording a second assist and winning a penalty kick in the second leg.
Midway through the first half, Leão was fouled in the area after nutmegging Mario Rui with a pass to Brahim Diaz. Not to be outdone by Maignan, Alex Meret stopped Olivier Giroud’s attempt, diving to his left to parry the ball away. While some suggested that four Napoli players encroached during the penalty kick, the IFAB confirmed that they had not. A player’s position is determined by the position of his feet and only if his feet are on the ground.
Moments later, Meret foiled Giroud again after a clever give-and-go between Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer. Giroud let Tonali’s pass roll past him before striking the ball with his left, but the Napoli shot-stopper kicked the ball away. However, the Frenchman would have the final laugh.
In the 43rd minute, Leão capitalized on Tanguy Ndombele’s miscue in the middle of the park. The Milan winger skipped past the Napoli defense with the same ease as Ruud Gullit in Milan’s 2-3 victory over Napoli during the 1987/88 campaign. Just as Gullit teed up Marco van Basten for the easy tap-in, Leão teed up Giroud, who always seems to score in the big moments.
Best vs Worst
It took two of Napoli’s worst performances of the season and two of Milan’s best – plus some questionable officiating – for the Rossoneri to edge a 2-1 victory (on aggregate) over the Partenopei.
Victor Osimhen, who showed why he’s Serie A’s top goal-scorer with his equalizer late in the match, did not play in the first leg due to injury. André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Kim Min-jae, both part of Napoli’s all-important spine, were suspended for the second leg. István Kovács, who gave Anguissa and Kim their questionable yellow cards in the first leg, was suspended by UEFA for the balance of the tournament.
Experienced official Szymon Marciniak officiated the second leg. While the head official of the FIFA World Cup had a good match, the same cannot be said of the VAR and his assistant. Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Bartosz Frankowski failed to give a clear penalty kick after Leão clipped Hirving Lozano’s foot while sliding into his own area.
To make matters worse, Lozano had entered the match after Matteo Politano and Mario Rui exited with ankle and knee injuries, respectively.
With Inter’s victory over Benfica on Wednesday, UEFA will showcase a highly lucrative Derby della Madonnina in the Semi-finals.
