For all the fire and passion, for all the noise and fury, for all that it has played brilliantly at times this season, there was a curious quiescence about Napoli as it went out of the Champions League against AC Milan. Stefano Pioli’s side defended diligently, and, although it eventually conceded in stoppage time, advanced to the semifinals by a 2–1 aggregate. After all the drama we’ve become used to at this stage of the competition, all the great comebacks, this was a very old-fashioned style of tie won by old-fashioned virtues.
Having been so good all season, Napoli has just lost its edge in recent weeks. It will still, almost certainly, win Serie A, which it leads by 14 points with eight games remaining, but having been such a fluent attacking side, the goals have dried up a little over the past few weeks. Napoli had failed to score in three of its four games before Tuesday, two of those against Milan.
Pioli’s record over his career against Luciano Spalletti was poor for a long time; Pioli failed to win any of their first 11 meetings. But he has now won three and drawn one of their last five encounters. There is a sense that there is something in how this Milan plays—its low block, its doggedness—that frustrates the high-tempo football of Napoli and then exploits its high line.
