AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli has said that they are halfway up the mountain after beating fellow Serie A side Napoli 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the San Siro in Milan.
Speaking after their match, Pioli said a hard match awaits them in Naples, while stressing that they are halfway up the mountain. The two sides will play the second leg of the contest at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on April 19.
“It’s still 50-50, the result is certainly a bonus bit it doesn’t change much, there’s still all to play for. We’re halfway up the mountain but normally the last few bends are the hardest to overcome. A hard match awaits us in Naples, none of us think we’re already through,” said Pioli.
Rodri, Barella, Bennacer, Asensio… ⚽
Who scored the best goal this week? #UCLGOTW || @Heineken
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 12, 2023
Meanwhile, Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas had a go at the refereeing decisions in the game, saying that the he has never seen such kind of officiating before. The referee showed four yellow cards to Napili, three yellow cards to AC Milan and sent Napoli midfielder Zambo Anguissa off with a red card.
“I don’t know what to say about the refereeing, it was something incredible. He booked all our players, they committed the same type of fouls but didn’t get yellow cards. It’s something I’ve never seen before. It was also because of that that at a certain point we became nervous on the field,” said Elmas.
Runaway Serie A leaders Napoli and seven-time European champions AC Milan played out an all-Italian UEFA Champions League match at the San Siro. Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer opened the scoring for Milan, through a fantastic low shot after being fed in by Spanish forward Brahim Diaz.
The goal proved to be the only one of the night as the Rossoneri held on to the slender lead against a Victor Osimhen-less Napoli side. The second leg of the tie is set to be played in Naples on April 19.
