AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer has claimed that the availability of Simon Kjaer for tomorrow’s game against Napoli does not change much in terms of the dynamics of the second leg.
Milan will travel to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with a one-goal lead after Ismael Bennacer gave the Rossoneri the advantage at San Siro, but it promises to be a different game in Naples in front of a hostile home crowd.
Napoli will be without the suspended Kim Min-jae and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa but the biggest news is that they will welcome back Victor Osimhen. The striker was out injured for the first leg and the 4-0 in the league, and will return to lead the line looking to add to his 25 goals this season.
Kjaer is widely tipped to start at centre-back alongside Fikayo Tomori and thus will be tasked with stopping Osimhen, and he spoke to Milan TV on the eve of the game.
“These matches are the ones that give me the motivation to train every day. It’s a great match for the team, perhaps one of the best of my career,” he said.
“We have to be compact, move together, even in difficult moments like the first 10 minutes of the first leg… We have to understand how to play and how to get out of these difficult moments: we have grown a lot on this.”
What changes with Osimhen?
“It won’t change much. Osimhen is a player with great qualities, very fast and very physical. He had a fantastic season. We prepared for him, but the basis remains the same: we all defend, we all attack.
“We have to be well positioned in the field also for the quality they have. We have beaten them in the last two times and we know that tomorrow we can even beat them again. We meet a strong team, but we are Milan.”
Will Napoli change?
“They will certainly change something, because they lost the first two games. In my opinion, tomorrow they will be even more aggressive, at home, and we have to be ready.
“The whole stadium will lead them to be tall and aggressive. We have to show their character and have the courage to play, because we have quality.”
🗣 Coach Pioli and @simonkjaer1989 preview the #UCL return leg against Napoli
🗣 Le interviste al Mister e a Simon alla vigilia di #NapoliMilan#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/kcmD419CZC
— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 17, 2023
I’m 100% sure Osimhen will not be stopped well
C dis1…is he god?? Forza Milan. We just nid gud officiating
We are Milan that’s all I know, we are beaten them stright ahead with the right mentality, we are Milan I repeat we have age over them and this is our world, this is were we belongs, forzaaaàaa Milan.