Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has admitted that the defeats against AC Milan last season did not sit well with him, hinting at ‘luck’ being required in the Champions League.
The Partenopei ran away with the Scudetto last season to end a wait of over 30 years and in truth no other team put up much of a fight as they deservedly won the third league title in their history.
Given the massive gap in points in the league table, many tipped Napoli to easily despatch of Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals, but the 4-0 victory for the Rossoneri at the Stadio Maradona not long before was a reminder of the threat of Stefano Pioli’s side.
Ismael Bennacer’s first leg winner meant Milan took a 1-0 lead into the second leg, and Olivier Giroud’s goal at the Maradona doubled that advantage, securing an eventual 2-1 aggregate win after a late consolation from Osimhen.
At a preseason training camp, De Laurentiis spoke to a local figure about the desire to do better in the Champions League next season.
“The trouble is the Champions League is all about luck,” he said (via Mediaset).
“Does the elimination still hurt? If only you knew how I felt about that 4-0 against Milan…”
They sold Min-jae Kim to bayern this summer so unless they reinvest it at a great defender they might find themselves losing even more this season 😛