Thanks to a goal by Olivier Giroud and a penalty saved by Mike Maignan, AC Milan knocked out SSC Napoli (1-1, 2-1 on aggregate) and qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League. This is a first since their victory in 2007.
Against the odds, AC Milan has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. The Lombard club qualified on Tuesday night by securing a 1-1 draw away at SSC Napoli in the second leg of the quarter-finals, following their 1-0 home win in the first leg the previous week.
Based on the start of the match, Napoli could have hoped for a good evening. With Khvicha Kvaratskhelia causing trouble, despite his lack of accuracy, the first 20 minutes seemed completely one-sided with relentless pressing from Luciano Spalletti’s men and numerous offensive opportunities.
The Diego-Armando-Maradona’s supporters then thought luck was on their side when Olivier Giroud missed a penalty in the 22nd minute, which was the first shot by Milan in the match.
A missed chance shortly after could have plunged the French forward into doubt. But it was Giroud himself, after a dazzling play by Rafael Leão, who scored the first goal of the match just before half-time (43rd minute).
Then it was his compatriot Mike Maignan whom the Rossoneri thanked, for also saving a penalty from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (82nd minute). The new starting goalkeeper for the French national team confirmed once again that this was his speciality.
However, he couldn’t do much about the equalizer scored by Victor Osimhen in injury time (90+3′), who had missed a crucial opportunity in the first leg. But it was too late for Napoli, who were knocked out of the competition despite having 63% possession and 22 shots compared to 7 in the second leg.
AC Milan’s semi-final could potentially be a derby if Inter defeats SL Benfica on Wednesday night. SSC Napoli, on the other hand, can console themselves with the third Serie A title in their history, which is promised to them in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (0-2) on Tuesday in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
