Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw at their turf by Serie A contingent AC Milan in the second leg of the Quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Napoli were eliminated following a 2-1 aggregate in favour of Milan in the tie.
Victor Osimhen upon his return rescued a draw for Napoli following his late-minute goal to neutralize Olivier Giroud’s goal.
AC Milan have reached the Champions League semi-final for the first time since 2006/07. They join Juventus as the Italian team with the most number of appearances at this stage of the competition (seven). If you include the previous European Cup, it totals 14.
Azzurri coach Luciano Spalletti was full of praise for his side. “Congratulations to Milan, but congratulations to Napoli too for the amazing Champions League journey we’ve been on.
“If we take a look at both legs, we’re the ones who played our game. Unfortunately, we came into these fixtures with injuries and somewhat weakened as a result of the international break.
“Some players had little preparation going into the game, for instance Victor Osimhen, who hadn’t played for three weeks.
“We’re disappointed to go out at the quarter-final stage, but we’ve had a top-level Champions League campaign and played well this evening. We showed some naivety and inexperience at times in the match, which is what cost us.”
Spalletti also felt his team should have got another penalty.
“It’s a very clear foul. Leao’s tackle turned his ankle. It’s a penalty that has to be given. You just needed to see it on VAR. It’s a clear penalty which wasn’t awarded.”
