Napoli 1-1 AC Milan (1-2 agg): Player ratings as Giroud sends Rossoneri into the Champions League semi-finals
Victor Osimhen's late header earned Napoli a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at home to Milan but it wasn't enough to overturn the deficit inflicted at San Siro last week, as the Rossoneri advanced to the final four.
Napoli's suffocating start was punctured by Milan's first foray out of their own half after 22 minutes. Mario Rui recklessly crashed into Rafael Leao, giving up a penalty which silenced the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Napoli's fervent fans had found their voice after peace talks with the club president were brokered by Italy’s minister of the interior last week and erupted again when Alex Meret beat away Olivier Giroud's tame spot-kick.
Giroud was rebuffed by Meret from similar range in open play moments later but would not be denied a third time. The first half had been almost entirely conducted inside Milan's half and that was where Leao picked up the ball in the 43rd minute.
Gobbling up a slack touch from Tanguy Ndombele, Leao slalomed forward, skipping around the blue shirts tumbling in his wake like the waves he surfs in his spare time. Baring down on Meret's goal, Leao took the goalkeeper out of the equation with a square pass for Giroud to tap in, breaking the deadlock on the night and giving Milan a 2-0 aggregate lead.
Milan’s hand constantly hovered over the handbrake throughout both ties but Stefano Pioli's side focused almost entirely on bolting the door in the second half of this deciding leg. Napoli had lashings of possession and rattled off a glut of shots but desperately struggled to tease apart the tight stitching of Milan's rearguard.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo belatedly slipped between the seams, wriggling into a congested penalty area and firing a cutback from the byline. Fikayo Tomori put his arm down to cushion his fall while attempting a slide tackle, inadvertently blocking the ball with his hand. Yet, just as Meret had stood up to Giroud in the first half, Maignan stretched out a meaty paw to palm away Khivcha Kvaratskhelia's penalty in the final ten minutes.
As Napoli threw caution to the wind - and an increasing volley of crosses into the box - Milan's resolve finally buckled. Osimhen - shackled in a cage of red and black bars for so much of the contest - fizzed a header past Maignan in the third minute of stoppage time.
Napoli's leading scorer may have become the first player since Chelsea's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to find the net against the Rossoneri in Europe in six months but it wasn't enough to earn his side a maiden Champions League semi-final.
While Napoli will have to settle for a first Scudetto since the days of Maradona, Milan can justify their feeble defence of the Serie A title with a Champions League semi-final against one of Benfica or, deliciously, city rivals Inter.
Napoli player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Alex Meret - 6/10 - Perfectly read Giroud's penalty even if it was at a comfortable height for the keeper.
RB: Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 3/10 - Never seemed capable of getting the better of Leao.
CB: Amir Rrahmani - 4/10 - Often the free man when carrying the ball forward, Rrahmani couldn't stop Leao in full flow - although, few can.
CB: Juan Jesus - 4/10 - Took a blow to the head but was groggy with his passing before that.
LB: Mario Rui - N/A - Gave up a needless penalty before limping off in the first half.
CM: Tanguy Ndombele - 5/10 - Had enjoyed an excellent half before his miscontrol gifted Leao the chance to hare forward.
CM: Stanislav Lobotka - 5/10 - Tasked with covering large swathes of space when Milan tried to break, the pint-sized ratter enjoyed mixed success.
CM: Piotr Zielinski - 3/10 - Struggled to exert a significant influence on proceedings.
RW: Matteo Politano - 7/10 - At the heart of Napoli's opening flurry of attacks but also had his big night cruelly cut short by injury.
ST: Victor Osimhen - 5/10 - Napoli's great hope struck too late.
LW: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - 5/10 - Saw plenty of the ball, digging deep into his bag of tricks which earned him more joy after the break.
Substitutes
Mathias Oliveira (34' for Rui) - 4/10 - Rarely offered Kvaratskhelia any support down the left flank.
Hirving Lozano (34' for Politano) - 5/10 - Proved to be much more predictable than Politano.
Eljif Elmas (63' for Ndombele) - 5/10
Leo Ostigard (75' for Rrahmani) - N/A
Giacomo Raspadori (75' for Zielinski) - N/A
Manager
Luciano Spalletti - 3/10 - Clearly knew what Milan would do - he and Jesus warned of the opposition counter-attacks pre-game - but couldn't send out a side to combat that obvious threat.
Milan player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Mike Maignan - 8/10 - Unerringly composed with the ball at his feet, Maignan's advanced positioning also limited Napoli's threat with balls over the top.
RB: Davide Calabria - 8/10 - Revelled in the fiercely (and fairly) contested individual duel with Kvaratskhelia.
CB: Simon Kjaer - 8/10 - A towering figure marshalling Milan's military-like backline.
CB: Fikayo Tomori - 6/10 - Stood up to the mentally and physically draining task of keeping tabs on Osimhen - unfortunate to give away a soft spot kick.
LB: Theo Hernandez - 6/10 - Limited in his raids forward, keeping focussed on holding his defensive position.
CM: Rade Krunic - 6/10 - Solid if unspectacular at the base of Milan's midfield.
CM: Sandro Tonali - 6/10 - At times a little too overeager with his pressing but would have done his grandmother - who religiously watches every game even though she's not fussed on football - proud.
AM: Ismael Bennacer - 7/10 - Shadowing Lobotka to clog up Napoli's buildup, Bennacer dropped onto Ndombele when Milan shifted even deeper, leaving Giroud to mark the hosts' pivot.
RW: Brahim Diaz - 5/10 - Wandered infield but remained on the periphery of the contest.
ST: Olivier Giroud - 6/10 - Squandered two golden opportunities before tucking in an unmissable opening.
LW: Rafael Leao - 9/10 - Simply unstoppable when he has the time and space to break into his mesmeric stride.
Substitutes
Junior Messias (59' for Diaz) - 5/10
Divock Origi (69' for Giroud) - N/A
Manager
Stefano Pioli - 7/10 - Set his side up to strike in transition from the off, leaning more heavily upon the tactic after their lead was extended.