Napoli puts one foot in Champions League quarter-finals
Playing away, but Napoli overwhelms the host Frankfurt in terms of the game as well as most of the parameters. The Italian representative finished 17 times, of which 10 times hit the goal. Two of those became goals, thanks to Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo. The score could have been stronger, had Khvicha Kvaratskhelia not missed the penalty in the first half. However, the 2-0 result is still a great advantage for Napoli, when they get the second leg at home.
Frankfurt came in well and created a chance in the fifth minute. Daichi Kamada and Kolo Muani continuously shot, but the ball missed the goal of the away team. After that, Napoli caught up with the game and mastered the game. The best opportunity came to the Italian representative in the 34th minute. Hirving Lozano escaped to pick up the high slit and hit the vertical post. Defender Aurelio Buta cleared the ball but did not see Victor Osimhen close behind, leading to accidentally kicking the Napoli striker in the penalty area. The away team were awarded a penalty, but Kvaratskhelia could not beat penalty expert Kevin Trapp.
Napoli also only needed to wait four more minutes to open the scoring. From the counter-attack, Lozano escaped very quickly on the right, before crossing the ball low to let Osimhen cushion the ball into the net from close range. The Nigerian striker's 10th goal in 2023 and his 20th this season.
Napoli almost raised the score right in the situation of Frankfurt's serve. Lozano stole the ball in the home field, then stretched it for Osimhen to finish the net. But this time, the referee determined the Napoli striker to be offside.
Leading the away goal makes it easy for Napoli to kick in the rest of the match. The Italian representative created many opportunities at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half, before a great advantage came to them in the 58th minute. France player Kolo Muani entered the ball under his shoes with Zambo Anguissa, receiving a direct red card. Playing more than people, Napoli only needed seven minutes to get an extra table. Kvaratskhelia pulled the assist heel to let Di Lorenzo cross to cut his heart and sink into the far corner to make it 2-0.
In the remaining half hour of the match, Napoli played leisurely and secured a 2-0 victory. Luciano Spaletti's teachers and students stopped a six-match winning streak at home to Frankfurt, in order to stand the chance to enter the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.
