Napoli-AC Milan clash heralds Serie A’s return to pinnacle of European football
Earlier this week, Serie A’s Twitter page released a promotional video titled “Calcio is back.” The video featured legends like Fabio Capello, Roberto Carlos and Alberto Gilardino and highlighted that six Italian teams were in the last eight of various European competitions.
It’s been a while since the Italian top flight produced so many teams in the quarterfinals of European competitions. No fixture epitomises the league’s renaissance more than the AC Milan-Napoli game.
The two teams come face-to-face for the second time in the space of ten days when they clash in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Milan were victorious in their most recent meeting when they thrashed Luciano Spalletti’s side 4-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Seria A, but the upcoming game will be a different proposition.
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Milan-Napoli is an unpredictable clash
Napoli have been the best team in Italy by a mile this season and have also been one of the most exciting teams across Europe.
However, the Partenopei have been weakened a bit in recent weeks following injuries to some of their key players. In-form striker Victor Osimhen and fellow forward Giovanni Simeone are nursing injuries and will miss the game against Milan. The absence of the duo has made the game open, considering the fact that they have been very influential in Napoli’s near-flawless season so far.
Milan may have thrashed Spalletti’s side 4-0 last time out, but Napoli are the runner-away leaders in Serie A for a reason. They remain the team to beat, even without Osimhen and Simeone.
What makes this game even more unpredictable is Milan’s poor form. The Rossoneri have won just once in six games across competitions, and yet they’re the side with European pedigree and experience. That makes for an interesting encounter, as one of the Champions League’s old guards comes up against one of the competition's fast risers.
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While the rest of Europe will be paying attention to the game between AC Milan and Napoli, the fixture heralds Serie A’s return to the pinnacle of European football.
In the last decade, only Juventus have reached the final of the Champions League (twice). Now Italy have six representatives in the quarterfinals of the three European competitions.
Serie A is assured of at least one representative in the Champions League last eight because of the Milan-Napoli clash. Inter Milan have one foot in the semifinals after winning 2-0 at Benfica in the first leg of their quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Juventus take on Sporting in the Europa League last eight, while AS Roma lock horns with Feyenoord at the same stage of the competition. In the Europa Conference League last eight, Fiorentina take on Lech Poznan.
For now, though, the spotlight is on AC Milan and Napoli, and the general consensus is that the two teams will represent Seria A well enough and produce a good game to the rest of Europe.