With Milan, Inter and Napoli in the Champions League quarter-finals, Stephen Kasiewicz names the three key players for the Italian giants in the second legs of Europe’s elite competition.
It’s been a tortuous 17 years since three Italian clubs reached the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. Both Milan and Inter displayed a resoluteness lacking in Serie A to progress against Tottenham Hotspur and Porto, while Napoli surged past Eintracht Frankfurt.
You have to travel back in time to the 2005-2006 edition of Europe’s premier competition – when Juventus, Milan and Inter all reached the last eight – to find such a strong contingent from Italy among the continental elite.
Football Italia examines the three key performers for Napoli, Inter and Milan in their round of 16 second-leg ties.
Victor Osimhen – Napoli
The man with the mask continued to soar to new heights as Napoli made history by clinching a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.
Two more goals, which took his total to 51 in 90 games for the Partenopei, ensured Luciano Spalletti’s men comfortably saw off Eintracht Frankfurt in a 3-0 stroll in front of an enraptured Stadio Diego Maradona.
The Nigerian striker majestically rose unchallenged to steer a perfectly placed header into the net before halftime and added another tap-in after the break.
In an industrious showing, he even found time to help out in defence as Napoli sealed a five-goal aggregate victory over the Germans.
The 24-year-old attacker has been unplayable in Serie A and Europe as the Gli Azzurri stylishly maintain their pursuit for domestic and European success in a thrillingly entertaining campaign.
Yet Napoli coach Spalletti believes Osimhen still has room for improvement as the Campania club enter uncharted territory in continental competition.
Francesco Acerbi – Inter
The rugged 35-year-old centre-back probably didn’t feature on the wish lists of Nerazzurri fans last summer.
Yet without his seasoned leadership and exemplary defensive interventions, Inter would have exited the Champions League on a dramatic night in Porto.
The goalless draw was enough for Simone Inzaghi’s men to book a place in the last eight of the Champions League after an absence of 12 years at the same stage of the tournament.
Unfortunately, not all of Inter’s travelling support were able to witness the on-loan Lazio defender expertly marshall a backline which resisted a ferocious late barrage at Estádio do Dragão.
Goalkeeper André Onana made several vital stops, including a late parry onto the post to deny Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, and much-maligned wing-back Denzel Dumfries cleared off his own goal-line, yet Acerbi held everything together as an unwavering Inter progressed.
Fiyako Tomori – Milan
It’s been a mixed campaign for the English defender yet he stepped up when it mattered most in an accomplished performance for Milan against Tottenham.
The Rossoneri last made the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2011-2012 term and Tomori’s tenacious display against Spurs in London epitomized a team resolved to win the two-legged tie at all costs.
The 25-year-old central defender was at his motivated best; sharp in the tackle and incessantly cajoling his teammates as Milan held Antonio Conte’s side to a blank to secure their place in the last eight.
Tomori may have missed out on the World Cup in Qatar with England, but he showed again that he can excel on the big stage as Milan preserved their goal advantage over an out-of-sorts Spurs.
@SKasiewicz