Reaching the Champions League semi-finals? It’s still 50/50, admits Pioli. AC coach comments on the first match against Napoli

AC Milan beat Napoli 1-0 in Wednesday’s Champions League match and are now well on their way to an away rematch. It is scheduled for next week on Tuesday 18 April, but everything is being tamed by AC coach Stefano Pioli. According to him, it’s still 50-50 with the promotion, how did he comment on the duel with Napoli?

Stefano Pioli’s charges didn’t have an ideal start to the game against Napoli, having to snuff out a significant scoring opportunity from the visitors early on.

The Partenopei also managed to get chances in the rest of the first half. Piotr Zielinski had a solid chance, but his long-range effort was parried by AC goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

In the 25th minute, the home side finally created their first serious chance, but Rafael Leão’s shot was not accurate.

Napoli’s initial pressure gradually began to wane in these minutes, and AC Milan took advantage in the 40th minute.

The goal was scored by Brahim Díaz – Rafael Leão – Ismaël Bennacer, with the latter standing at the end of the action. It should be added, Simon Kjaer could have added another goal by the end of the first half, but he headed his attempt into the crossbar.

As for the second half, Napoli again had a little more of the game. But the Partenopei couldn’t get a shot on target. It should be noted that they had 15 in total in the match, the home team had 12.

Napoli will miss more players

The problem for Naples going into the rematch may be the players that are out of action. Indeed, the visitors went down to ten in the 74th minute when Andre Zambo Anguissa was sent off after a foul on Theo Hernández. Min-Jae Kim also received a yellow card for talking and the Partenopei will also miss the rematch.

But the Rossoneri were unable to take advantage of the numerical superiority, although the pressure and chances created at first suggested so. However, it should be added that Napoli created at least two great chances at the end despite being shorthanded, but again failed to score from them.

AC Milan thus beat Napoli 1: 0 and the return leg will be open thanks to the slim lead. Coach Pioli is also aware of this.

Advancing to the semi-finals? It’s still 50-50

“I’m especially happy that we can enjoy such evenings with our fans. AC’s history speaks of many Champions League victories, but in recent years we have rather dreamed of reaching this stage,” said Pioli in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.

“Before kick-off I said it was 50-50 with progression and that didn’t change after the first game. We were a bit lucky at the start, but after that we kept our concentration and dedication on the ball. It’s true that we couldn’t score a second goal in the final ten minutes, which is disappointing. But it’s still open and that’s what we wanted,” explained the Rossoneri coach.

Sky Sport Italia, UEFA Champions League