MX23RW : Tuesday, December 17 16:38:15| >> :120:4652:4652:
[monks data]
Napoli logo
Champions League | Quarter-Finals | 2nd Leg
Apr 18, 2023 at 8pm UK
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (Napoli)
Milan logo

Napoli
1 - 1
AC Milan

Osimhen (90+3')
Di Lorenzo (45+7'), Olivera (90+3')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Giroud (43')
Maignan (45+6'), Hernandez (45+1')

Wasteful Napoli eliminated by AC Milan in Champions League quarter-final

Wasteful Napoli eliminated by Milan in Champions League quarter-final
© Reuters
AC Milan knock Napoli out of the Champions League 2-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals thanks to a draw in southern Italy tonight.

AC Milan are through to a first Champions League semi-final since 2007, beating fellow Italian side Napoli 2-1 on aggregate.

A 1-1 draw tonight at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona sealed progression for the Rossoneri after a 1-0 win at San Siro last week, on a dramatic evening where both sides missed from the spot.

It marks another successful evening in Naples for Milan, who won 4-0 here in the league just 16 days ago.

Luciano Spalletti's side will now have to focus purely on maintaining their big lead at the top of Serie A, to seal a first Scudetto since 1990.

Napoli were given a big boost pre-kickoff as Victor Osimhen was named among the starters for the first time since before the international break.

After making 10 changes to the side for their draw with Bologna at the weekend, Stefano Pioli named the same Milan side that beat Napoli last week in the first leg.

An impressive record of five Champions League games without conceding for Milan was put under intense pressure early on, as the visitors were under siege for the opening 20 minutes as Napoli's pressure was incessant.

However, the electric atmosphere inside the Maradona fell flat midway through the first half when referee Szymon Marciniak pointed the penalty spot down the other end, after Mario Rui wiped out Rafael Leao.

Olivier Giroud stepped up for the spot kick, but his penalty was struck at the perfect height for Alex Meret in the Napoli goal, who kept it out.

The Napoli number one came to the rescue again, correcting the situation after his poor pass out from the back to deny Giroud again from close range smartly with his legs.

However, he would be helpless as Milan eventually took the lead shortly before half time, with Giroud coming up with the opener.

All the hard work was done by Leao, who ran three quarters of the pitch with the ball at his feet, leaving Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Tanguy Ndombele and Amir Rrahmani in his wake, before squaring the ball for the Frenchman, who had a tap in to put the tie almost out of reach for the hosts.

The Partenopei came out for the second half on the offensive, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia firing over the bar just 35 seconds after the restart after some great work on the left wing.

The Georgian winger blazed over once more in a similar scenario, with substitute Hirving Lozano also guilty of firing high over the crossbar soon after.

Mathias Olivera squandered a golden opportunity just after the hour, when he was left unmarked at the back post from a corner, but got his header all wrong, missing the target.

As Milan cleared, intercepted and blocked everything that came into their penalty area, Napoli were eventually provided with an opportunity to get back into the tie, when Fikayo Tomori's stray arm blocked Di Lorenzo's cross, resulting in a penalty for the home side.

However, after an already frustrating evening for Kvaratskhelia, Napoli's revelation this season was denied by the brilliant Mike Maignan, who got down expertly to his right-hand side to turn the penalty around the post.

With Napoli throwing everything at the Milan rearguard, Osimhen proved his worth by netting a goal three minutes into stoppage time to give Milan a late scare, but the Rossoneri held on to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

With Napoli now only fighting on one front, they travel to Turin to face Juventus on Sunday in a heavyweight encounter in Serie A, as the Neapolitans look to hold onto their 14-point advantage.

Milan now have a Champions League semi-final to look forward to, most likely against bitter rivals Inter Milan, but they still need to ensure they finish in the top four this season, with a home tie against Lecce next up for Pioli's men at the weekend.

ID:511724:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6073:
Written by
Andrew Delaney
No Data Analysis info
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring against Bayern Munich on April 11, 2023
Read Next:
Champions League Team of the Week - Bernardo, Haaland, Vinicius
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool660018
2Barcelona650115
3B. Leverkusen641113
4Inter Milan641113
5Brest641113
6Arsenal641113
7Aston Villa641113
8Lille641113
9Bayern640212
10Dortmund640212
11Atletico640212
12AC Milan640212
13Atalanta632111
14Juventus632111
15Benfica631210
16Feyenoord631210
17Brugge631210
18Monaco631210
19Sporting Lisbon631210
20Real Madrid63039
21Celtic62319
22Man City62228
23PSV62228
24Dinamo Zagreb62228
25PSG62137
26Stuttgart62137
27Shakhtar61144
28Sparta Prague61144
29Sturm Graz61053
30Girona61053
31Red Star61053
32Salzburg61053
33Bologna60242
34RB Leipzig60060
35Slovan Bratislava60060
36Young Boys60060


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!