Napoli lost 1 – 0 away from home to fellow Serie A side AC Milan in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter final tie.
Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer scored the only goal of the game to give the hosts a leg up in the tie. Napoli will also be without key midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who will miss the second leg of the tie thanks to picking up two yellow cards in the game.
It was Milan’s second straight victory against Napoli in under a week. The first was a 4 – 0 victory at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in the Serie A on Sunday. It was the first match after the March international break and also their first match without talismanic striker Victor Osimhen, who picked up an injury playing for Nigeria during the international break.
Napoli have struggled without the former LOSC Lille striker whose return date from injury is unknown. His initial prognosis suggested that he will be out for three weeks but the striker promised to do everything in his power to be available for the tie. Having missed the first leg, the club’s fans will hope that he will be fit enough to play in the second one at their home ground.
A lot is riding on Osimhen’s availability for the second leg. Although he was largely a sent during their group stage run due to the same fitness issues, his presence in the round of 16 was vital to their sealing of a quarter final ticket.
Luciano Spaletti, unfortunately, does not have an answer for times when he is absent. The 24-year-old striker’s ability to pull defenders out of position which opens up spaces for him and the other attackers to exploit is unparalleled in the side. Without this weapon, smart teams can take full advantage of Napoli and cause problems for them.
On a stage like the Champions League, where the stakes always seem higher, this could be a problem.
Milan have a great history in the competition as well as seven-time winners, the second most in history behind Real Madrid. This gives the Rossoneri the upper hand over the minnows Napoli, who have never been to the semis in their history.
As things stand, Napoli’s journey looks set to end at this stage of the competition once again.
The key remains Osimhen but Spaletti will be thinking of how to defeat Stefano Pioli’s men and prevent a third straight loss (second at home) to AC Milan, who are looking rejuvenated at this point in the season.
