MY ACCOUNT
Luciano Spalletti bemoaned Frank Anguissa’s “unfair” dismissal as Napoli were dealt another absentee blow in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final defeat at Milan.
The Napoli midfielder was dismissed for two bookable offences in the space of four second-half minutes as Ismael Bennacer’s 40th-minute strike proved the difference in a 1-0 win for Milan at San Siro.
Spalletti was already without injured striker Victor Osimhen, and his replacement Giovanni Simeone, with Anguissa’s suspension adding another name to Napoli’s growing list of absentees.
The Napoli coach was left unimpressed by referee Istvan Kovacs’ decisions but insisted the Serie A leaders have capable replacements heading into next week’s return leg in Naples.
“I have nothing to say, commenting after the matches is wasted time, there’s no turning back,” Spalletti told Sky Sport.
“At this point, every absence is a blow for us, but we have someone who replace him. It’s been like this for the whole season, otherwise we wouldn’t have the results we have managed.
“We trust the group, but it’s a pity we won’t have Anguissa because I think it’s unfair… It was planned to replace him, I was looking at who to bring on in the three substitutions, I was missing the third.
“The regret is that he played two more minutes while I decided. I’ll think about what I did, the referee won’t comment, [UEFA Referees’ Committee chairman Roberto] Rosetti will do it.
“From what I’ve seen, Anguissa gets a lot of ball… Let’s look at the yellow card for [Piotr] Zielinski and the one not given to [Rade] Krunic.”
Milan have caused Napoli issues twice in the space of 10 days, hammering the Partenopei 4-0 in Serie A before overcoming Spalletti’s side in Europe.
Stefano Pioli’s men are the only team to beat Napoli more than once this season, with two of the Partenopei’s five defeats coming against Milan.
The Rossoneri are also the only side to have stopped Napoli scoring in more than one match this term, while Milan have scored six goals this season against Spalletti’s side – twice as many as any other team.
Spalletti was still pleased with what his side offered, though, and hailed the efforts of Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who made an impressive five saves.
He added: “We had a great attitude, I congratulate the team on how they tried to play the game, even outnumbered. And congratulations to Maignan.”
Milan have progressed from seven of their previous nine two-legged ties in the Champions League knockout stages after winning the first clash, while they have lost just one of 10 all-Italian match-ups in Europe.
Yet Napoli captain Di Lorenzo remains confident when Pioli’s men visit the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for Tuesday’s second leg.
The Italy international told Amazon Prime Video: “We are a quality squad, to go through you have to win at home, we hope there will be a good atmosphere, as always this year.”
