Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret has said that ‘it’s a pity’ the goal from Victor Osimhen against AC Milan came so late in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Speaking to Sky Sport (via Milan News) after the game on Tuesday night, the goalkeeper rued the fact that Napoli could not pile more pressure onto Milan with a goal earlier in the second half.
Leading 2-0 on aggregate, it was clear in the second half that Milan would be under immense pressure if Napoli could pull a goal back. They did, but it was so deep into stoppage time that it made little difference and Milan still progressed to the semi-finals.
“We are certainly disappointed not to have managed to pass the round. We played a great game today, we managed to hold the game in our hands for the whole match, we lacked guile on their counter that led to the goal, with a little bit of guile we could have stopped it earlier,” Meret explained
“But I think we really gave everything, we have the soul. It’s a pity that we found the goal so late, if it had come earlier it could have been different.”
Napoli are set to win the Scudetto this season as they have a commanding lead at the top of Serie A and Meret is still proud of what they have achieved.
“Ours is still a great season. We are doing very well. We must raise our heads now. We must continue with these performances, with this conviction,” he said.
When asked what he would change about the two Champions League games if he could, Meret said: “Both today and in the first leg the goals we conceded came from turnovers that we could have avoided with a bit more attention. But we know that the counterattack is their strength, they have great players with great speed, it was not easy. Now we absolutely must not get down.”
It’s a pitty we didn’t get two penalties in the first leg, as a 3-0 result going into the second leg would have made Osimhen a moot point.
It was the final minutes of the game and Milan had dropped their guard. That was the reason for his late goal.
Plus we play with 10 men😅