AC Milan added another entry to their book of great European nights as they drew 1-1 with Napoli last night to secure a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Calciomercato.com write how the Napoli that were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the hands of Milan seemed a completely different animal compared to the team that is dominating the league.
In Serie A they are heading for just the third Scudetto in their history it has not been in question for months now given that they are 14 points above second-placed Lazio, yet against the Rossoneri they could not make the dominance pay against a domestic rival.
Milan meanwhile are back in the Champions League semi-final 16 years after the last time, but their sleeve patch with reads seven European Cups/Champions Leagues clearly has an impact on opponents faced.
The experience of the players on the pitch was more or less similar with the exception of Giroud, but it was Milan’s winning mentality that made the difference as they faced a team that had scored four goals against Liverpool, six in two games against Ajax and had the best attack of the group stage with 20 goals and another five against Eintracht Frankfurt in the round of 16.
The Napoli fans ‘dreamed and sang’ with around 100 people gathered under the Rossoneri’s hotel with the aim of not letting them rest in view of the big match. Fireworks, songs and despicable racist abuse were aimed at throwing Milan off.
However, the article describes it as ‘environmental provincialism vs. winning tradition’ and Milan are the team smiling to the semi-finals of the Champions League.