Merciless Milan leave 10-man Napoli blue
The visitors’ 16-point lead atop the Serie A table means their heavy defeat against Milan 10 days ago should ultimately prove inconsequential, although there was no such buffer as they arrived at the San Siro.
Luciano Spalletti’s side was still typically fearless as the Rossoneri’s defence was swarmed by a sea of blue shirts but survived, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort being blocked on the line, Mike Maignan tipping Piotr Zielinski’s venomous strike over the bar and Giovanni Di Lorenzo coming agonisingly close with a header.
After spending the early stages putting out fires, Milan created their own spark when Rafael Leao embarked on a lung-bursting run, although the winger eventually dragged his shot marginally wide of the far post.
Despite the initial disappointment, that moment gave the Rossoneri the encouragement that was epitomised by a sensational turn and run from Brahim Diaz, starting a move that culminated in Ismael Bennacer smashing his first-time effort in off Alex Meret’s outstretched boot for the Algerian’s first-ever Champions League goal. The hosts could have had a second before the break, as Simon Kjaer’s header cannoned off the crossbar and somehow stayed out.
The woodwork was rattled again shortly after the break, as Maignan scrambled back to tip Elif Elmas’ header against the bar with Napoli starting quickly again. While the visitors continued to probe in the hope of scoring an equaliser, Milan defended authoritatively with Davide Calabria putting in a superb tackle when it appeared Kvaratskhelia might carve out a rare route to goal.
Making Napoli’s task even harder, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was sent off after receiving yellows for two fouls on Theo Hernandez in under four minutes, before Kim Min-jae was booked for dissent and consequently ruled out of the second leg, summing up the away side’s growing frustrations.
Maignan made another impressive save to deny an instinctive attempt from Di Lorenzo before Mathias Olivera glanced his header onto the roof of the net late on, as Milan’s impenetrable defence kept a fifth consecutive Champions League clean sheet for the first time since 2004/05, taking a slender but important lead to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Stefano Pioli’s men also ended Napoli’s run of eight consecutive away wins, giving Gli Azzurri an uphill task if they are to progress from their first-ever quarter-final in this competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Davide Calabria (AC Milan)