PIATEK FIRES TWICE TO SEND US INTO THE SEMIS

Piatek struck twice to send AC Milan into the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia. He scored his first goals and first brace for the Rossoneri as Gattuso’s side defeated Napoli 2-0 at San Siro to progress from the quarter-finals of the competition. It was a dream night for Krzysztof, who was decisive and flawless in front of goal. It was also a fantastic evening for AC Milan as they produced an excellent display where they were superior to a very strong opponent and never looked in any danger. Not only did the team perform excellently, there were some great individual displays too: Bakayoko showed great leadership, while Paquetá’s skill was on display. Laxalt’s performance was terrific too. Also worth noting is how well the defence played – we are looking very solid at the back and didn’t concede once again. The Rossoneri are going through one of their best spells of the season and from tomorrow will start preparing for the vital away match against Roma in Serie A. This is set to kick off at 20:30 CET on 3 February at the Stadio Olimpico. We applaud you, lads!

CHECK OUT THE BEST PHOTOS FROM AC MILAN V NAPOLI

The Rossoneri made a great start and came close through Piatek in the seventh minute, but the Polish striker’s fierce volley went wide. Four minutes later, however, our new signing did find his first goal for the club, coolly slotting home with his right foot following Diego Laxalt’s ball over the top. Moments later, Insigne found himself unmarked in the box but fired straight at Donnarumma as the Partenopei sought to respond immediately. In the 21st minute, another Insigne effort was saved by Donnarumma. The away side were made to pay after 27 minutes as Piatek got his second of the match: he controlled the ball before then cutting inside and curling in an absolutely magnificent goal with his right foot to double the Rossoneri’s lead. At the start of the second half, Napoli aimed to threaten the Rossoneri’s rearguard through some dead ball situations but couldn’t find the back of the net. AC Milan were managing the game well and not experiencing any real difficulties. In the 50th minute, Bakayoko’s effort was saved by Napoli’s goalkeeper before Milik’s left-footed strike after 61 minutes was kept out by Donnarumma. Five minutes later, a vicious shot from Ounas was superbly saved by Gigio. In the 78th minute, Milik fired off target as Napoli looked to make it an interesting end to the match. In the final minutes there were many changes but not a lot of chances: only Zielinski came close to scoring as the match came to a close.

RELIVE AC MILAN V NAPOLI PLAY BY PLAY

MATCH DETAILS

AC MILAN 2-0 NAPOLI

AC MILAN (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Abate, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Laxalt; Kessie, Bakayoko, Paquetá (85' Rodriguez); Castillejo, Piatek (79' Cutrone), Borini (60' Calhanoglu). Subs: A. Donnarumma; Plizzari; Calabria, Conti; Bertolacci, Mauri, Montolivo; Suso, Tsadjout. Coach: Gattuso.

NAPOLI (4-4-2): Meret; Malcuit (40'st Callejon), Koulibaly, Maksimovic, Ghoulam; Fabian Ruiz, Allan (46' Ounas), Diawara (58' Mertens), Zielinski; Insigne, Milik. Subs: Ospina, Karnezis; Luperto, Mario Rui; Hamsik; Gaetano. Coach: Ancelotti.

Referee: Piero Giacomelli from Trieste.
Goals: 11', 27' Piatek (M).
Booked: 29' Malcuit (N), 35' Milik (N), 40' Koulibaly (N).

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