AC Milan Edge Past Napoli in Champions League Quarter-Finals

AC Milan secured a 1-0 victory against Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Wednesday night.[expander_maker id=”1″ ] Portuguese forward Rafael Leão started for the Italian champions, while Napoli had the Portuguese left-back Mário Rui in their starting lineup (substituted in the 81st minute for Olivera).

The only goal of the game came from Algerian defensive midfielder Ismael Bennacer in the 40th minute, in a move initiated by Spanish midfielder Brahim Diaz, who slalomed past two Napoli players to start a counter-attack. Leão then provided a first-time pass to the unmarked Bennacer, who rifled the ball into the net, with Napoli goalkeeper Meret only managing to get a touch on the ball.

Until that point, Milan had little to show for their efforts, with Napoli creating more chances and putting Milan goalkeeper Maignan under pressure. Maignan produced an excellent performance, denying Napoli captain Di Lorenzo on at least three occasions during the match. Napoli were without their top scorer, Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, due to injury, and coach Luciano Spalletti opted to play Elmas up front instead, only bringing on Osimhen’s likely replacement, Raspadori, from the bench later in the game.

The game changed in the 74th minute when Cameroonian defensive midfielder Frank Anguissa was shown a second yellow card in the space of three minutes and was sent off, leaving Napoli with ten men on the field for the last quarter of an hour. Milan then focused on holding on to their precious lead, while Napoli became less adventurous going forward, with Maignan making a couple more saves before the full-time whistle blew.

Milan now takes a slender advantage to the second leg of the quarter-finals, which will be played at the Estádio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples on Tuesday, April 18th. Napoli will be without Anguissa and Kim Min-Jae, their South Korean central defender who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Whoever wins the tie will face either Inter Milan or Benfica in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Rafael Leão, one of Milan’s most important players this season, had a quiet game by his standards, but his pace and directness on the ball could still pose a threat to Napoli’s defence in the second leg. Milan will hope to put in a more convincing performance in the return fixture and secure their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.[/expander_maker]