Milan are in the Champions League semi-finals after drawing 1-1 with Napoli in the second leg of the quarter-finals at the 'Maradona'. The Rossoneri had won the first leg 1-0.
Victor Osimhen's equaliser in injury time was not enough, as he did not go beyond a 1-1 draw with Milan in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, allowing the Rossoneri to secure their place in the semi-finals at the end of a match full of incidents. A penalty missed by Giroud and Kvaratskhelia (saves by Meret and Maignan), another previously not awarded to the Neapolitans and goals by Giroud and Osimhen.
It's delirium for Pioli's team who conquers Maradona again, beats Spalletti's men for the third time in 16 days and now awaits the winner of Inter-Benfica (2-0 for the Nerazzurri in the first leg). The very first moments of the match are almost all of a Neapolitan nature: the home team push from the beginning in search of the goal that can immediately rebalance the double challenge, but the Rossoneri defense proves to be attentive, allowing very little space.
The first big episode of the match comes in the 21st minute, but in favor of the guests: Leao is brought down in the area by Mario Rui, the referee whistles an impeccable penalty, but Giroud misses it and is hypnotized by a super Meret, providential with his feet always on the Frenchman just a few minutes later. Another episode of the match happens in the 36th minute in the Milan area, when Leao seems to clearly anticipate Lozano with a slide, but the images highlight how the Portuguese's first touch is on the Mexican's foot and not on the ball (the VAR comes into action but does not call the referee).
In the 43rd minute, Milan scored the lead, taking the lead thanks to Giroud, who made up for his previous mistake by putting a perfect assist from Leao into an empty net, the star of a sumptuous run with a slalom between three defenders. At the start of the second half, Napoli needed an immediate jolt and Kvaratskhelia tried to take the stage, shooting twice in the space of a few minutes after two excellent plays, but without finding the target.
Milan is more concerned with defending the lead than looking for the goal to make things safe, so the Azzurri continue to press and in the 80th minute they find the possible episode to reopen the discussion: Tomori's hand in the area on a cross from Di Lorenzo, another penalty but Kvaratskhelia also lets himself be hypnotized by Maignan. In full recovery Napoli still finds the goal of 1-1 with Osimhen, but it is not enough to try the miracle.
Article published on 18 April 2023 - 23:08
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