With all apologies to Dua Lipa, it takes multiple kiss (I really feel like if I met Dua Lipa I’d have an awesome urge to apologize for lots of issues, BUT THAT’S NOT WHY YOU CALLED).
Italian soccer nonetheless has a fame — one which’s not likely true anymore — of being overly tactical and defensive. It’s maybe one it must work more durable to shake off if it desires to even get in the identical stratosphere of worldwide recognition that the Premier League has, and it’s a league filled with vibrant attacking groups. Catenaccio will not be the order of the day in Italy anymore, however a long time of its use are exhausting to erase from the reminiscence banks.
That doesn’t imply that it isn’t a part of the e book when wanted, and AC Milan actually referenced their and Italian soccer’s historical past when upsetting Napoli within the Champions League quarterfinals yesterday. And it was an upset, provided that there are 22 factors between these two groups within the league, with Napoli working away to assert the Scudetto and Milan battling simply to stay within the high 4. What’s much more superb is that this was the third time within the span of 16 days that Milan had nullified Napoli’s smothering and clever assault. Napoli have scored 66 targets in 30 league video games, for fuck’s sake. However they solely managed one over 270 minutes towards Milan, two legs of the quarterfinal, and a league defeat at house.
Except for some spritely opening 10 minutes in each legs, Milan snuffed out just about each menace by having their two holding midfielders, Sandro Tonali and Rade Krunić, sit proper on high of their backline, opening no house between these strains, which is the place Napoli’s Piotr Zieliński or Stanislav Lobotka would run wild. This compelled Napoli out to the wings to search out any house.
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Usually, Napoli could be OK with this, as a result of Matteo Politano or Hirving Lozano on the best and particularly Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left can create possibilities at will. However within the first leg, Napoli have been with out an injured Victor Osimhen and solely had the freshly returning one within the second leg, and with out him they actually lacked a menace to get on the top of crosses.
Which could not have mattered as a lot, as a result of each of Milan’s fullbacks have been exemplary, particularly Davide Calabria on the best aspect, who saved Kvaratskhelia in his pocket in a style that will have had Milan legend Paolo Maldini purring within the govt field, so long as we’re persevering with the theme of harkening again to the great ol’ days (additionally it’s all the time a pleasant pick-me-up to consider Maldini and these eyes you can rediscover your childhood inside).
Calabria performs lockdown protection
Kvaratskhelia has been perhaps the revelation of the European season at Napoli, an inverted winger who has turned just about each protection he’s come up towards into confetti. He was given nothing by Calabria, which blunted Napoli’s assault into not way more than a kitten’s paw.
And even when Napoli did handle to get crosses into the field, nearly all of them discovered the defiant dome of both Fikayo Tomori or Simon Kjær. Napoli tried 45 crosses yesterday, and solely 10 of them discovered a teammate, such was the obstreperous nature of Tomori and Kjær (my principal as soon as referred to as me that in grade faculty and I’ve coopted the adjective for my very own units, in case you have been questioning. Revenge is nice).
The targets the Rossoneri wanted
In fact, you continue to want to attain, and Milan solely required two marvelous items of individualism on the counter to get the targets they wanted. We went over Brahim Díaz’s flip within the first leg that led to Ismaël Bennacer’s winner, however no purpose we are able to’t take pleasure in it once more:
Yesterday, it was Rafael Leão’s flip, as he picked up a unfastened ball some 85 yards from objective and thought he’d have a pleasant jog by half the Napoli group earlier than organising Olivier Giroud:
And that was that. Napoli pulled a objective again late, nevertheless it was all the time only a comfort. The sweetness, so we’re instructed, of catenaccio is that it’s easy. You defend nicely, you are taking your likelihood whenever you inevitably get it on the counter, you win. A reference to the simplicity of Italian delicacies or life, actually. Generally soccer is simply that easy. When you’ve defenders enjoying this nicely, and gamers like Diaz and Leão able to turning the sector into their very own private F1 monitor, what extra do you want?
Observe Sam on Twitter @Felsgate as he talks himself into Xabi Alonso taking on for Jurgen Klopp within the close to future.