Simon Kjaer is relishing being back in the knockout stages of the Champions League, as Milan aim to secure a semi-final spot.
Milan hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg, having last reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2006-07 campaign.
They have only been eliminated twice after winning the first leg of a knockout tie, though have kept a clean sheet in their last five Champions League matches, the best run by a side since Manchester City in the 2020-21 season.
The Rossoneri have beaten Napoli twice in April, though overcoming the Serie A leaders at home will be no easy task.
For Kjaer, he is revelling in having another shot at playing in the latter stages of UEFA's flagship club competition.
"We are very happy to be here, we deserved this chance and last time we were in this stadium, it went well, so we hope to repeat it," Kjaer said in a press conference.
"You never know when this opportunity will come around again.
"These are evenings that stay with you for the rest of your life, whether good or bad. This is why we play football.
"The other night at San Siro was one of the best experiences of my career with our fans. It will be different tomorrow, but it gives you a sensation that you cannot find anywhere else."
Napoli's star striker Victor Osimhen returned from an adductor injury on Saturday, though could not help Luciano Spalletti's team beat Verona.
Even if Osimhen is fit to start on Tuesday, Kjaer does not hold any fear.
"We will meet Osimhen, just as we do other strikers," he said. "It is never just the work for one defender, it is teamwork and respect."
Stefano Pioli echoed Kjaer's sentiment when it comes to Osimhen, who has netted 25 goals this season.
"He is such a powerful, impressive and decisive striker, so we take his characteristics into account, but at the same time we have our own way of playing football and we won’t move away from that," said Pioli.
"We saw with previous Napoli games that a lot of it is about knowing the moment to slow down and speed up, and that is even more crucial with a player like Osimhen."
Manchester rivals suffer three o'clock woe
Manchester City and Manchester United both lost on Saturday, breaking a decade-old wait for the two rivals to fall to a defeat in a 3pm kick-off.
It is rare for both United and City to play in the traditional Saturday slot, but that was the case as Erik ten Hag's side hosted Crystal Palace and Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions headed to Wolves.
Yet neither team will be in a rush to remember this particular afternoon in a hurry, as they both lost in a 3pm Saturday kick-off for the first time since September 28, 2013.
United lost 1-0, with Joachim Andersen's goal making Roy Hodgson the first manager to go unbeaten in five successive Premier League trips to Old Trafford. City, meanwhile, went down 2-1 at Molineux, with Hwang Hee-chan getting the winner for Wolves.
No Rodri, big problems
City lost to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and, without star midfielder Rodri – who was serving the second of a three-match suspension for the red card he received against Nottingham Forest – they found themselves on the end of a defeat again at Wolves.
Since Rodri made his Premier League debut in August 2019, City have lost five of 15 matches without the Spaniard in the competition (W9 D1); by contrast, they have lost just five of their last 67 league games when Rodri has featured (W53 D9).
Napoli end Lecce’s home run with formidable display
Napoli emphatically ended Lecce’s 100 per cent home record in Serie A with a 4-0 victory at the Stadio Via del Mare.
Goals from Leo Ostigard and substitutes Victor Osimhen and Gianluca Gaetano had the visitors in control before Matteo Politano converted a penalty in added time.
Both teams started the day in the top six with 11 points from six games but Rudi Garcia’s men were good value for their fourth win of the campaign to maintain the pressure on the Milan clubs.
Garcia made three changes following the convincing 4-1 defeat of Udinese in midweek, with Mathias Olivera, Giovanni Simeone and Jesper Lindstrom coming in for Mario Rui, Osimhen and Politano.
Napoli had early control in sunny Puglia with Lecce, the season’s surprise package, struggling to make an impression.
The visitors’ early enterprise was rewarded in the 16th minute when they took the lead, central defender Ostigard heading in Piotr Zielinski’s free-kick from the left unchallenged at the far post.
Lecce won only three home games last season but had already beaten Lazio, Salernitana and Genoa this time around and falling behind sparked them into life.
Roberto D’Aversa’s men, who saw their best start to a Serie A season end on Tuesday with a 1-0 loss at Juventus, threatened in the 25th minute when Nikola Krstovic brought a low, diving save out of goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Central defender Marin Pongracic then wasted the Salentini’s best first-half chance on the half hour, firing over from seven yards after a corner on the right.
However, Napoli finished the half strongly and could have led by more than one goal at the interval.
In the final five minutes of the first half, Simeone saw a powerful right-foot shot go just wide, Wladimiro Falcone saved from Zielinski, then Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was narrowly off-target with a free-kick.
Osimhen replaced Simeone for the second half, and within six minutes of his introduction he had doubled Napoli’s lead with his fifth goal of the season, a header off the post from close range following Kvaratskhelia’s cross.
Gabriel Strefezza had the ball in the visitors’ net in the 57th minute with a close-range header but it was ruled out for handball in the build-up by Krstovic.
With a Champions League match against Real Madrid coming up on Tuesday, Garcia rotated his players, first replacing Lindstrom and Kvaratskhelia with Giacomo Raspadori and Politano.
Raspadori’s low left-foot shot was saved by Falcone in the 67th minute, before Jens-Lys Cajuste came on for Stanislav Lobotka with 14 minutes remaining.
Lecce could not find the breakthrough they needed to set up a tense finish and Napoli made it 3-0 when Gaetano, the last of their five substitutes to be introduced, increased the lead with two minutes remaining.
Less than five minutes after his introduction, the attacking midfielder fired home powerfully from the edge of the penalty box.
There was still time for a fourth goal, Politano sending Falcone the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ylber Ramadani had been penalised for fouling Gaetano.
Roberto D’Aversa warns Lecce will face ‘the complete team’ in champions Napoli
Lecce manager Roberto D’Aversa will prepare his squad to face the “complete team” when Napoli come to the Stadio Via del Mare.
Napoli eased the pressure on under-fire boss Rudi Garcia with a 4-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday night, which puts the Serie A champions fifth in the table heading into the next round of fixtures.
Speculation over Garcia’s future, though, continues, with the French coach having ducked recent media duties amid reports of unrest within the camp and a bizarre video on TikTok which seemingly mocked striker Victor Osimhen following his penalty miss against Bologna.
View this post on Instagram
D’Aversa, though, is expecting nothing less than the sternest of tests from the Partenopei in Saturday’s afternoon kick-off.
“If I have to list them all (Napoli’s strengths), we would never end,” the Lecce boss told a press conference.
“They are Italian champions, they have a complete team with capable and quality players – Osimhen attacks from deep and is one of the best in Europe.
“On our part, there must be the will to put in a great performance.”
Lecce sit just a place behind Napoli, level on points, after losing their first Serie A game this season 1-0 at Juventus on Tuesday night.
D’Aversa will be without midfielder Mohamed Kaba through suspension after his late sending off and is set to rotate the squad.
“When there are three games a week you have to look for the player’s performance,” he said.
“In Turin, we didn’t have any turnover. We need to pay more attention to certain situations.
“(Lorenzo) Venuti and (Remi) Oudin are starters for me. It is clear that, where possible, there will be some changes tomorrow.”
Reports in Italy suggest Osimhen will not not pursue legal action against Napoli following the TikTok video.
After they face Lecce, Napoli host Real Madrid in the Champions League next week.
Forward Giovanni Simeone was on the scoresheet against Udinese and feels the squad can reset and push on into the season.
“Let’s start again from this victory,” the Argentinian said, quoted on the club’s official website. “We have worked a lot and collected little so far, but we know our value.
“We are a strong and united group. We are aware that two seasons cannot be repeated the same, but we are also sure that we have the spirit, mentality and quality to continue to be protagonists.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
