Pep Guardiola insists he’s been impressed by Napoli‘s playing style this season, but Milan‘s history in the Champions League ‘counts.’
The Rossoneri have qualified for the Champions League semis for the first time in 16 years by eliminating Napoli in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win on aggregate.
Serie A now have five representatives in the semi-finals of European competitions, two in the Champions League, two in Europa League and Fiorentina in the Conference League.
“It’s not a surprise, Italian football is healthy,” Guardiola told Gazzetta.
“I watched Napoli-Milan on Tuesday and I was impressed by the Azzurri. All games against Milan were hard-fought this season. You win or lose by small margins, which make the difference.
“Now, you should not say Napoli have had a bad season because they are out of the Champions League,” the ex-Roma and Brescia midfielder continued.
“I’ve watched them and I’ve been impressed by their playing style. They’ll win the title and we’ll see what they’ll do in the Champions League next season.”
Napoli are dominating in Serie A and are en route to winning their third Serie A title in history.
“Napoli are ahead of Milan in Serie A and people believe the Champions League is the same thing, but Milan change their chip in Europe, it’s a club like Bayern Munich, which I’ve just met and I know well,” noted Guardiola.
“They were great in the past, I don’t know how many cups they’ve won. I remember Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio Capello, Franco Baresi, and Alessandro Costacurta, history counts, this is why these teams are so strong.
“Milan also played well in Naples, they won in Serie A, and in the first leg at San Siro. Napoli could have been given a penalty, but it was a hard-fought game.”
Milan will meet their city rivals Inter in the Champions League semi-finals. The Nerazzurri have earned a spot among the best four teams in Europe for the first time since 2009-10 when they won the treble with José Mourinho in charge.
Serie A leaders Napoli return to the pitch on Sunday in an away game against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.