AC Milan advance to UEFA Champions League semifinals after eliminating Napoli with 1-1 draw as Rafa Leao stars

After winning 1-0 in the first leg in Milan, AC Milan drew 1-1 the second leg away against Napoli and qualified for the UEFA Champions League semifinals for the first time in sixteen years. It was a historical night for the Rossoneri, as the team coached by Stefano Pioli managed to draw in Naples with an incredible performance of Portuguese striker Rafael Leao, who assisted Olivier Giroud after a stunning run that completely changed the course of the game.

Napoli started off well, repeating what happened in the first leg, and threatened to score the opening goal with some individual plays by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen in particular, but the first half had the first twist when the referee awarded a penalty to the away side. However, Olivier Giroud missed it and gave more unexpected hopes to Napoli. The Azzurri, however, seemed to be affected psychologically by this event, shaken up by conceding the penalty even though it wasn’t converted, and instead of finding the opening goal they conceded it. Before Leao’s run and Giroud’s opening goal, Napoli were also forced to make a double change with Matteo Politano and Mario Rui injured. 

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After finding the winning goal, AC Milan would handle their two-goal advantage in the tie well in the second half and Napoli had few chances but nothing that could actually worry the away team. Before the end of the game Napoli were awarded a penalty, but AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved it from Kvaratskhelia. In the last minute of the game, Osimhen found the equalizer but it was too late and the game ended 1-1. 

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One game, two penalties missed and two goals scored. AC Milan are in the final four for the first time since 2007, when they last won the Champions League after winning against Liverpool in the final. Wednesday they will find out who they will play against, and we can potentially have the Derby della Madonnina in the semifinals as happened in the 2002-03 season, when the Rossoneri won the competition after winning at penalties against Juventus in Manchester. 

Napoli have one issue to solve

Luciano Spalletti had to deal with two key absences as Kim Min-Jae and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa were both suspended and missed the second leg. Their replacements, Juan Jesus and Tanguy Ndombele in particular, showed that Napoli’s backups are not at the level of the starting players. Ndombele’s mistake led to the incredible run of Rafael Leao, but his overall performance showed that Napoli needed a player like Anguissa in that part of the pitch. The squad depth is one thing to work on for the club in the summer, because these quarterfinals demonstrated that there is room for improvement from this aspect. Ndombele had to press when Napoli were defending but also create when Napoli had the ball. He was not able to give what Anguissa usually does in both defensive and attacking moments of the game and it’s not a coincidence that Luciano Spalletti was reluctant to start him in past games. For sure, that Napoli didn’t make it to the final four, isn’t *only* because of him, but probably this match showed that Napoli need another kind of player when Anguissa is not starting. 

Rafael Leao: the key player 

Once again Rafael Leao was the key player against Napoli. His assist, and his incredible run, decided the second leg in Naples and he’s probably currently among the most decisive players around European soccer. In ten Champions League games, he scored only one goal but also provided five key assists, including two against Napoli, one each in both first and second leg. He’s bringing what AC Milan need: pace, creativity and talent. He has all he needs to shine even more, but AC Milan now need to take care of his contract situation since his current agreement will expire in the summer 2024. While the club and his agents are working to fix this situation, he’s definitely happy to be where he is. And AC Milan fans are as well. 

AC Milan back in the top four

The Rossoneri are back in the top four for the first time since season 2006-07 when they won their last Champions League, winning the final against Liverpool. On Wednesday, AC Milan will know who they will play against but there are big chances to see a Derby della Madonnina in the semifinals as Inter won 2-0 in the first leg against Benfica. The Milan derby could also mean the re-match of the 2002-03 semifinals, when AC Milan eliminated Inter after two draws (0-0 and 1-1) and then later won the cup after beating Juventus on penalties, in what is probably going to be one of the most exciting matchups of the recent editions of the UEFA Champions League.