Taking advantage of the absence of Napoli's superstar centre-forward Victor Osimhen, the Rossoneri scored the only goal of the match five minutes before half-time. Ismaël Bennacer scored his first career Champions League goal after receiving a pass from Brahim Díaz. In the second half, Milan received further help when André-Frank Zambo Anguissa received his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card. The victory put Milan on the cusp of their first Champions League semifinal since the 2006-07 seasons - the last time they won it all. Repeating the feat 16 years later would unquestionably be more impressive than any of the seven titles they have won to date.
Milan proved that their recent 4-0 Serie A victory over runaway league leaders Napoli was no fluke. From a tactical standpoint, Milan's counter-attacking tactics completely overwhelmed Gli Azzurri; Milan repeatedly restricted to shot attempts unlikely to result in a goal while creating several probable goal-scoring opportunities themselves. In fact, just a few minutes after Bennacer's goal, Milan could easily have made it 2-0, but centre-back Simon Kjær's header struck the crossbar.
The vibes around the red half of the San Siro are overwhelmingly different from those earlier in the season. Six months ago, Milan were coming off back-to-back Champions League losses to Chelsea. Across those two matches, Milan scored zero goals, conceded five, and collected nine yellow cards and one red - and all of this against the team generally considered to be the laughingstock of European football this season. Having been drawn against Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg, and Dinamo Zagreb in Group E, Milan were widely expected to cruise into the round of 16; however, at this point their Champions League future was hanging in the balance. Things weren't going much better domestically, either. A slow start to the season saw the reigning Serie A champions lie fifth in the league after nine matches.
In due time, however, things began to change. Milan would soon reel off a sequence of 11 Serie A matches in which they would lose just one, climbing to second place in the league in the process. Dominant Champions League victories over Dinamo and Salzburg were followed by an impressive, resolute round of 16 victory over Tottenham Hotspur after the World Cup break.
Heading into both of their recent matches against Napoli, Milan had been favoured against neither of them. The first 4-0 victory at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona sent shockwaves throughout the football world, as Napoli had been the definition of "dominance" in their domestic play this season. Having once again risen to the occasion against the same opponents, this time on European football's biggest stage, Milan have proven that they do indeed have a puncher's chance to go all the way.
This could be the best chance at a Champions League title that Milan could have for quite some time. The other three teams which will almost certainly be the other semifinalists are Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Milan's cross-town arch-rivals Inter Milan. In the case of Milan's likely semifinal opponents Inter, derby matches are always a toss-up - especially when the pressure is at its highest. Should they survive that, they would go on to face Real or City in the final. This is the weakest Real team in several years. Domestically, they trail league leaders Barcelona by 13 points. City, meanwhile, have a history of underperforming in high-leverage Champions League matches. Although Milan would enter the final as the underdog regardless of their opponent, one would think that they would fancy their chances either way.
It wasn't all that long ago when the scenario in which AC Milan find themselves today seemed unthinkable. In the 2020 off-season, Milan had failed to qualify for the Champions League for seven consecutive seasons and had fallen as low as 10th in the league in 2014-15. Their rise back up the ranks has been as swift as their fall was all those years ago. Now, Milan stand just four matches away from the completion of the most remarkable renaissance that European football has seen in many years.
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