[스포츠한국 김성수 기자] Napoli, where Kim Min-jae (26, SSC Napoli) started, lost to AC Milan in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League by allowing a counter-attack. Kim Min-jae is unable to take part in the second leg of the quarter-finals as he has received three cumulative warnings.
Napoli lost 0-1 in an away match against AC Milan in the first leg of the 2022-2023 European Football League (UEFA) quarter-finals held at San Siro, Milan, Italy at 4:00 am on the 13th (time Hereafter Korea ).
Kim Min-jae played full-time as Napoli’s central defender that day, but could not prevent the team from losing.
Napoli picked up the line from the start of the game and went on the offensive. AC Milan started in ‘defence first then counter attack’ style, including a long pass towards striker Olivier Giroud.
Napoli continued to dominate the first half. In the 12th minute of the first half, Piotr Zielinski received a pass from Giovanni Di Lorenzo in front of the AC Milan penalty area and took a left-footed mid-range shot. AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Mennan hit the shot right at the step and made a save.
AC Milan, who had been continually pushed back, took the lead at home with one counter-attack. In the 40th minute of the first half, in a counterattack situation, Brahim Diaz started to dribble from behind the halfway line and gave a pass to Rafael Leang on the right in front of the Napoli box. Leão put it to the opposite left with a one-touch pass with his right foot, and Ismael Benasser took it with a direct left-footed shot from the left inside the box. The shot hit the right foot of Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret and rattled the net, giving AC Milan a 1-0 lead. During extra time in the first half, Simon Kjer hit Napoli’s crossbar with a header from AC Milan’s left corner attack.
In the end, AC Milan took the lead and finished the first half. Napoli led 8-5 in the number of shots, but AC Milan scored the goal.
Napoli, who were actively attacking in the second half, faced a series of unexpected bad news. Napoli midfielder Andre Franck Jambo Angusa, who already had a warning, was sent off in the 29th minute of the second half for kicking AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez in the stomach while trying to touch the ball with his right foot. In addition, Kim Min-jae received a warning during a header contest with AC Milan’s Alexis Salemachus in the 33rd minute of the second half, and was unable to participate in the second leg of the finals. In the Champions League, if three cautions accumulate from the group stage to the finals, you will be banned from participation.
In the 42nd minute of the second half, Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s right-footed shot from the right inside the opponent’s box was blocked by AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Menann. In the end, Napoli were unable to score a draw, and AC Milan won the first leg 1-0.
Meanwhile, the two teams will play the second leg of the quarter-finals on the 19th at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Napoli, Italy, the home of Napoli. The team with the highest combined score of the first and second leg advances to the quarter-finals.
