An audio showing Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti assessing his side’s potential Champions League opponents has been widely circulated online in the days since the quarter-final draw on Friday morning.
In conversation with the fan, Spalletti admitted that he ‘breathed a sigh of relief’ when the Partenopei were drawn out of the hat to face the Rossoneri over two legs in the last eight of the competition.
The two Italian sides were among the last sides left in the draw along with Manchester City and Bayern Munich, who were both identified by Spalletti as teams he would have wanted to avoid.
“I absolutely didn’t want Bayern or City,” the 64-year-old said in the clip. He continued: “Of course at the end with the two of them left I breathed a sigh of relief when we drew Milan because it wasn’t looking great.”
Spalletti then played down suggestions that his side drew a relatively easy fixture against the Rossoneri, given what the alternatives would have looked like.
He added: “Stop with the suggestions that the game is already won. So far they have only played against Salernitana,” indicating his belief that previous results throughout this season go out of the window during the Champions League.
The all-Italian quarter-final guarantees that there will be at least one Italian representative in the semi-finals of Europe’s most prestigious competition, with the added enticement of a potential semi-final against Inter if they overcome Benfica in their last-eight tie.
The first leg of the Milan-Napoli clash is scheduled for April 12 at San Siro, with the second leg coming the following week on April 18 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.