Napoli struggle without injured Osimhen as AC Milan take slim advantage into second leg
Napoli are the best team in Italy, but their ability to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage was tested when they faced AC Milan in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Luciano Spalletti’s side did not disgrace themselves but went down 1-0 at the San Siro in the first leg on Wednesday (April 12). The Neapolitans gave it their all against a side that has a great history in the Champions League, winning the competition seven times.
Napoli did not also sacrifice their style: They played their usual attacking football, took the game to the hosts and gave themselves a fighting chance ahead of the second leg.
Advantage AC Milan
Despite being one of the best teams in Europe at the moment, Napoli were never going to have it easy against AC Milan at the San Siro.
The game turned out exactly as many predicted, with the Rossoneri absorbing the pressure and playing on the counter, while Spalletti’s side dominated possession. Milan eventually got the breakthrough following a counterattack that saw Ismael Bennacer fire a low shot past Alex Meret.
That turned out to be the winner, and it gave Stefano Pioli and his charges a slim advantage to take into the deciding leg at the Stadio Armando Maradona on Tuesday (April 18).
At this stage, being clinical is crucial, but Napoli failed to take their chances despite having five shots on target and were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal.
Napoli miss injured stars
The silver lining for Napoli is that they will have a more complete team for the second leg. Spalletti’s side played without some of their most influential players in Milan due to injury.
Their top scorer this season, Victor Osimhen, wasn’t available, as was fellow forward Giovanni Simeone. Third-choice striker Giacomo Raspadori, who started against Lecce in Serie A last week, was also ruled out against Milan.
That forced Spalletti to deploy midfielder Elif Elmas as a make-shift striker, and the team suffered for it. Not only did they struggle to play to Elmas’ strength, but they also lacked a physical presence in the opposition box. That, though, will not be the case in the second leg at home against Milan, as Osimhen will be available.
“For Osimhen, the chances of him being available are 100%. Programming has been done in that direction. Keeping him out at San Siro, not risking him in Saturday’s match against Verona, will allow us to complete the work done by the doctors,” Spalletti said after the game, as quoted by Football Italia.
He continued:
“With a striker, we might have had more chances, but Elmas disrupted the opponent’s build-up, forcing them to often play the ball long. It’s fair to say that he probably had fewer chances than a natural striker, but he forced them to play a less smooth game, and we built the performance on this not-untidy start for Milan. The pressure was constant and balanced.”
Napoli struggled without their injured stars but the return of Osimhen changes everything and immediately makes them favourites in the second leg. As they say, there's everything to play for in the return leg.