NAPOLI V AC MILAN: A PREVIOUS MEETING

It was an entirely different outlook for Napoli v AC Milan, compare to the match-up with Scudetto implications this season. Let's get ourselves up for the big match at the Stadio Maradona (Sunday 6 March at 21:00 CET) by hopping into our time machine and going back over 24 years into the past to 4 January 1998 and to a game that we won 2-1 thanks to goals from Leonardo and Ganz.

SETTING THE SCENE
AC Milan were struggling in 1997/98 and the Partenopei even more so. Fabio Capello had returned to the Club after a (first) brief stint with Real Madrid. The Azzurri, meanwhile, were being coached by Galeone and, that afternoon, had Allegri on the pitch. After a tough start, the Rossoneri with Inter and Juve in November, to steady the ship for the team, the captaincy of which had been handed to Paolo Maldini after Baresi's retirement. The final month of 1997 saw the Diavolo grow and improve and they went to Naples following the Christmas break. It was a tough test, one which the Rossoneri only just passed. It wasn't however, a turning point. The Diavolo finished tenth on 44 points and missed out on European football, while the Partenopei finished rock bottom and were relegated.

EVEN ENCOUNTER
AC Milan started the better of the two sides in front of almost 70,000 spectators. In the opening stages, Kluivert, Boban and Ba from distance all tested Taglialatela. Napoli then grew into it and Taibi held firm in the AC Milan goal. He did well to deny Asanović but was helped out by Costacurta after a misjudged rush out towards Protti and was let off by Goretti, who dragged his shot well wide from a good position. That was the first real chance of the game, the second was clawed away brilliantly by Cardone and the third - a curling effort from Turrini - finished just wide. The tempo and the tension grew and the game began to spring to life.

THREE GOALS IN THE SECOND HALF
The start of the second half was almost as bad as it could possibly be for the Rossoneri: Desailly took a huge risk and brought Protti down in the box but the referee blew the other way for handball by the Napoli man. The danger passed and, after a save from Taglialate to deny Ganz, the Diavolo opened the scoring in the 52nd minute. Boban served it on a plate for Leonardo, whose shot went in just under the bar. Penalties were then claimed on both sides by Ganz and Protti before Maurizio himself bagged the Rossoneri's season in the 72nd minute. Ba slipped it in behind for the striker, who stuck it past the goalkeeper with a sweet finish. Result in the bag? Almost, because Bellucci halved the deficit in the 75th minute, but it was too little too late for the hosts. That win was to provide a bride confidence boost as AC Milan, just days later, thumped Inter 5-0 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-final: the Rossoneri would go on to reach the final but were beaten by Lazio to finish a tough season.

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