Associazione Calcio Milan

Road To Semifinals

For AC Milan, the road to the semifinals began as a breeze.  The Rossoneri cruised into the knockout phase of the Champions League finishing four points ahead of Red Bull Salzburg as runners-up in Group F.  However, the competition ratcheted up a notch for the Round of 16 as the Diavolo squared off against Tottenham Hotspur. As such, with the London based club led by international captains Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Milan was picked by many to exit the Champions League.  But that wasn’t the case.  Over the 180 minutes of this two-legged tie, the Rossoneri was able to bottle Harry and Heung-min en route to a 1-0 aggregate win.  The lone goal came in the first leg at the famed San Siro and was struck by Real Madrid loanee Brahim Diaz.  Then came Milan’s stiffest test yet in the quarterfinals against Napoli.  The Naples based club has run away with Serie A and will soon be crowned champions of Italy for the first time since Maradona donned the powder blue kit in the 1980’s.  As a result of the Azzuri’s excellent season both domestically and in Europe up to this stage, Milan once again was considered underdogs.  But once again, the Rossoneri responded with a stellar defensive performance over the two legs and stifled Napoli’s star striker Victor Osimhen, limiting the Nigerian forward to a conciliation goal in the 90+3’ of the second-legged match of the tie.  In turn, Milan won the tie 2-1 and now look forward to a Derby della Madonnina semifinal against bitter city rivals Inter.

Players To Watch

The aforementioned Diaz has been a delight for Milan since joining the Rossoneri outfit in 2020.  He’s largely a creator of play, however he’s still scored six times and assisted on a further four occasions from his attacking midfield role this season.  In addition to Diaz, watch out for Olivier Giroud.  The veteran striker has routinely been over looked and under appreciated dating back to his days at Arsenal.  However, Giroud, France’s all-time leading goalscorer, has consistently popped up with goals in crucial moments wherever he’s been, including in Milan.  Most recently, Giroud struck the back of the net just before half-time against Napoli.  That goal gave the Rossoneri a 2-0 advantage over the two legs of the tie and created a level of confidence within the squad that ultimately saw Milan push through to the semis.

LSB Prediction

What a rare spectacle we’ve been blessed with this year as us spectators get to watch a two-legged semifinal between Milan rivals Inter and AC in what’s called the Derby della Madonnina!  As such, the San Siro will be as energized as ever considering what’s at stake, a trip to the UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul, Turkey.  This matchup features Serie A’s last two Scudetto winners as Inter won the title in 2021 followed by AC last season in 2022.  In addition, these two clubs have the richest history for Italian based clubs in Europe with inter having won the Champions League and Europa League three times apiece.  Meanwhile, AC has won the UCL seven times (Second most al-time) and the Europa League twice.

Once kickoff has commenced and the 180 minutes has been played, I foresee Inter Milan edging AC 3-1 on aggregate.  Thanks to a stouter defensive unit featuring Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, and Alessandro Bastoni coupled with a more dynamic midfield and physically imposing strikers in Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, Inter Milan will be headed to the UCL Final!