Tanguy Ndombele's dream of returning to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer with a Champions League winner's medal in his possession came to an end on Tuesday evening.
Tipped to go all the way to the final in Istanbul in June and potentially win Europe's top prize going on Napoli's incredible form in Serie A this campaign, AC Milan delivered them an almighty blow for the third time this month. Shocking the runaway league leaders at the beginning of April with a 4-0 triumph at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona before then gaining a crucial advantage in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie one week ago, the Rossoneri once again got the better of Ndombele and Co. by securing a 1-1 draw in Naples that saw them progress to the semi-finals.
Already set to be a memorable season for Napoli with the team firmly on course to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1990, adding the Champions League trophy to their collection would have made an already remarkable campaign the greatest in their history. In such a pivotal game for Luciano Spalletti's team with a place in the final four of the Champions League up for grabs, the Italian head coach handed Ndombele only his second start of 2023 following Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's red card in the first leg.
