Alexis Saelemaekers talked through his extraordinary solo goal and explained Milan ‘wanted to remind everyone we are still the Champions of Italy’ after thrashing Napoli 4-0.
This was meant to be the moment the baton was handed over, as the Partenopei have a practically unassailable lead at the top of the Serie A table, but instead the old guard made a point with a dominant performance at the Stadio Maradona.
After his remarkable mazy run through defenders and final nutmeg of Alex Meret, Saelemaekers pointed to the Scudetto symbol on his chest.
“In recent months, people have forgotten who we are, perhaps because we weren’t doing as well,” the Belgian told DAZN.
“We wanted to remind everyone that we are still the Champions of Italy and will be until the end of this season.”
It was a surprising solo run for Saelemaekers, who is not exactly known for his goal-scoring prowess.
“I’d scored a goal like that in training, but never in a match situation! When I got the ball, I saw there was space and as there was only Giroud near me I thought, well I’ll do it myself. It went well this time!” he laughed.
Milan and Napoli will face off again in the Champions League quarter-finals on April 12 and 18, so while the Partenopei had been considered the runaway favourites, has that now changed?
“It was important for us to gain confidence tonight and we know the Champions League nights are special. Napoli are a very strong side and we need to forget about this result to start from scratch.”
Still, for a few more weeks.