Napoli v AC Milan Cheat Sheet
Napoli v AC Milan
After seeing how Napoli seamlessly navigated a Champions League group containing Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers whilst also maintaining superb Serie A form, many immediately tipped them as the surprise package that could actually win the Champions League this season.
When they were drawn against AC Milan in the quarter-final and also knew that one of Inter and Benfica would be waiting in the semi-final, that prediction started to look even more realistic. An injury to Victor Osimhen has resulted in a dip in form at a key time, though, and Luciano Spalletti’s side come into this Champions League quarter-final second leg knowing that they have to win the game by two goals.
The first leg ended with Milan winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ismael Bennacer and whilst Napoli were still able to create a decent number of chances, the fact that they had to start Eljif Elmas upfront had a very clear effect on the team. The focal point was missing.
Milan played very well in patches and much like Inter, they seem to be able to find an extra level of performance in the Champions League which has been missing in Serie A. They could only manage a 1-1 draw away at Bologna on Saturday but the side was heavily rotated with this match in mind.
Both coaches will be absolutely desperate to come out on top in this tie as they know there is a really strong chance of making it to the final. Even if that were to end in defeat, the revenue it brings will be vital given the lack of cash floating around in Serie A right now.
There is a chance that this game could be a bit of a ding-dong. Napoli, of course, have to score and with Osimhen back in the side, you simply have to believe that they will be able to find the back of the net. It will likely be the first goal of the game too.
They just have too much quality when he is in the side and they know that, whilst winning the Serie A title is an immense achievement, there will be a lot of disappointment if this Napoli side does not make more of a dent in the Champions League, considering they are up against the team fourth in the league who are 22 points behind them.
They will fly at the Rossoneri early on in a bid to quickly eradicate the first leg, especially with their own fans behind them. That being said, they are without star defender Kim Min-Jae and the huge midfield presence of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa as they are both suspended.
That does mean that should Napoli take an early lead, Milan will have to come out and play and they will be against a Partenopei side that is defensively weaker than the times that Milan have beaten them this season, at least on paper.
There is fair reason to believe that both teams will get on the scoresheet in this second leg.
The spectacle of this second-leg is massively heightened by the fact that Victor Osimhen is set to start. He came off the bench late on against Hellas Verona at the weekend and looked extremely dangerous. The Nigerian smashed a shot against the crossbar and didn’t look like he had injury concerns.
Given they have the league wrapped up, Spalletti will risk Osimhen by starting him as this is their biggest game of the season, there is nothing to save him for. The Nigerian has been one of the best strikers in Europe this season and is constantly being linked with a move to the Premier League or La Liga.
His cameo against Verona looked to be filled with rage at his side still being level with not long left to play. The urgency was frightening and the decisiveness with which he shoots is incredible. Given they are 1-0 down already here, that is presumably how he will play the whole game against Milan.
With Osimhen being on a mission and looking to make up for lost time, he will be taking every single opportunity to get a shot on target and it is hard to picture him not having at least two on target, baring in mind there is the scope for extra time here as well.
He has been averaging 4.47 shots per game this season and when you consider that he has scored 25 times, he is clearly getting a good number of them on target.
Fikayo Tomori is one of the many players that Pioli rested against Bologna at the weekend and he is expected to play the whole contest at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Tomori is a defender who can sometimes be overly reliant on the fact that he has pace in his locker. Instead of immediately dealing with danger, he’ll often give forwards slightly more space in the knowledge that he can stay with them and make a tackle.
Considering the sort of game that Osimhen is going to be trying to have, and the fact that the entire Napoli team know that they simply have to score first, Tomori is surely going to find himself needing to commit a foul or two to break up attacks if he is caught out.
He has been struggling for much of the campaign for consistent form and there have been a few big games where he has not impressed. There is reason to believe that this could be another one and the idea of him going through the whole game without committing a foul seems implausible.
It is not just Osimhen that he will be dealing with either. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and either Hirving Lozano or Matteo Politano will be making darting runs both inside and outside of him. It will be a much tougher test that the 4-0 victory in Serie A over Napoli and the first leg of this Champions League tie.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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