ROSSONERI BEAT 10‑MAN NAPOLI IN QUARTER‑FINAL FIRST LEG
Champions League
Advantage AC Milan! The Rossoneri beat Napoli by a goal to nil in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final and go into the second round of this all-Italian tie brimming with confidence. In front of a full house at San Siro, the two sides played out a frantic and hard-fought 90 minutes of football, with chances for both teams. The Rossoneri displayed two key strengths: efficiency on the counter – which produced Ismaël Bennacer’s goal – and tenacity at the back as the Rossoneri kept their fifth consecutive clean sheet to dampen the competition’s most potent attack this season. The hosts could have had a bigger lead though, with Simon Kjær heading onto the crossbar in added time in the first half.
Ten days after the two teams met in the league in Naples, the Rossoneri went with the same starting line-up, with Bennacer in an advanced role and Díaz out wide. The choice paid off as the Spaniard again put in an excellent performance. In a first half littered with chances, the Rossoneri weathered the initial storm from the guests and grew into the game. What followed was a second half lacking in goalmouth action but still packed with talking points; Napoli finished the game with ten men after Zambo Anguissa was shown a second yellow card, so he will miss the return leg, as will Kim, who picked up a booking tonight. Maignan was called into action late on and produced a brilliant stop to maintain the Rossoneri's lead. Before the second leg, AC Milan travel to Bologna in Serie A this Saturday in what is a huge chance to cement their place in the top four. Forza Milan!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v NAPOLI
MATCH REPORT
There was an immediate scare within the first minute when Calabria blocked Kvaratskhelia’s effort on the line, before Maignan tipped over from Anguissa’s right-footed attempt on four minutes. The Rossoneri tried to get out and advance forward in the opening stages, but without ever really finding an opening in the Partenopei backline. Maignan saved magnificently from Zieliński’s powerful drive after 12 minutes. The tempo of the game eventually slowed down, and midway through the half AC Milan’s first chance arrived: Leão set off on a breathtaking run through the middle of the park, entering the box, but his left-footed shot with the inside of his boot was just dragged wide of Meret’s left-hand post. Again on the break, five minutes before the end of the half, the home side took the lead: Brahim took the ball in the centre of the pitch, drove forward, fleeing two tackles, before laying the ball off to Leão; he saw Bennacer’s forward run down the left, who then fired an unstoppable left-footed strike home past Meret. It was a lively end to the half, which saw Kjær hit the face of the bar deep into stoppage-time from a corner.
The second half opened up with Maignan keeping out Elmas header. The away team continued to put pressure on and Di Lorenzo tried his luck, but the Italian’s shot was blocked by Kjær after 53 minutes. The match remained intense and exciting, with both teams fighting hard to gain the upper hand, but chances were slim. Saelemaekers for Bennacer was Coach Pioli’s first sub of the evening, and Raspadori for Lozano for Napoli. The game changed somewhat after 74 minutes when Anguissa stopped a breakaway by Hernández, given as a foul, leading to his second yellow of the night: the visitors were down to ten men. There was another yellow card for Kim, which sees him out of the second leg after already being on a booking. With the numerical advantage, the Rossoneri searched to double their lead. But it was Napoli, though, that spurred a great chance through Di Lorenzo three minutes before the end of normal time, as another timely Mike Maignan save kept the clean sheet intact. Leão had two more efforts on goal at the end, but nothing came of them, and it ended 1-0 to AC Milan!
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 1-0 NAPOLI
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Kjær, Hernández; Tonali, Krunić; Díaz (80' Rebić), Bennacer (67' Saelemaekers), Leão; Giroud. Subs: Mirante; Ballo-Touré, Florenzi, Gabbia, Kalulu, Thiaw; Pobega; De Ketelaere, Messias, Origi. Coach: Pioli.
NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Mário Rui (81' Olivera); Anguissa, Lobotka, Zieliński (80' Ndombele); Lozano (69' Raspadori), Elmas, Kvaratskhelia (81' Politano). Subs: Gollini, Idasiak; Bereszyński, Juan Jesus, Østigård; Gaetano. Coach: Spalletti.
Referee: István Kovács (Romania).
Goal: 40' Bennacer (M).
Booked: 38' Zieliński (N), 61' Bennacer (M), 71' Di Lorenzo (N), 71' Anguissa (N), 78' Kim (N), 90'+3 Saelemaekers (M), 90'+3 Rrahmani (N), 90'+6 Calabria (M).
Sent-off: 74' Anguissa (N) for second booking.
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