Sorry we didn’t score more goals! Ismaël Bennacer, author of the winning goal, assesses AC’s 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. Next week’s game is on Tuesday 18 April, but how does Ismaël Bennacer, the author of the winning goal, rate the first leg?

Napoli came at their opponents in the opening minutes of the first half and the Rossoneri had to snuff out a very promising scoring opportunity from the visitors.

Later in the first half, Piotr Zielinski had a solid chance, but his long-range effort was cleared 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 began to fade in these minutes, and AC took advantage in the 40th minute. Brahim Díaz did a great job in the centre of midfield, then passed to a free Leão, who sent the ball to Bennacero, who made no mistake from close range.

Simon Kjaer could have added another goal before the end of the first half, but he headed his attempt into the crossbar. In the second half, Napoli again had a bit more of the game, but failed to score.

In the final minutes, both teams, especially the Partenopei, created several more chances. However, none of them scored. Notably, the visitors went down to ten in the 74th minute when Andre Zambo Anguissa was sent off after a foul on Theo Hernández.

However, Stefano Pioli’s charges failed to take advantage of the powerplay, although they had the necessary chances and pressure. AC Milan defeated Napoli 1: 0 and the return leg will be open thanks to a slim lead. How did the author of the winning goal evaluate the first match?

We’re sorry we didn’t score more goals…

“We worked hard, we did what the coach wanted us to do and it worked. But we still have one more game to play, in three days we will also play against Bologna and we have to prepare as well as possible, play as a team. This is how we must continue,” said Bennacer after the game, quoted by Football Italia.

“Maybe we were a bit too worried at the beginning, but then we settled down and covered every player. As time went on, we tried to keep the ball more. We are sorry that we didn’t score more goals, but we also knew that there was still a rematch to come,” he concluded.

Sources: UEFA Champions League, Football Italia