Giovanni Di Lorenzo almost ended up smiling, pushing “Magic Mike” out of spite after his last miraculous parade. We were playing the 87th minute of a fierce Champions League quarter-final when the Neapolitan side sent a close shot that he imagined finishing his race in the Milan skylight. Except that Mike Maignan is currently disgusting everyone in Europe, and that he has deployed to preserve for the umpteenth time the short advantage of AC Milan (1-0 thanks to a goal from Bennacer).
In all, the new titular goalkeeper of the Blues, so brilliant already in Ireland (0-1) on March 27, signed five major saves on Wednesday evening against Naples. Zambo Anguissa (3rd), Zielinski (12th), Elmas (50th) and already Di Lorenzo (51st) all suffered the same fate, like so many others before them. “It’s the first time we’ve beaten Napoli at home in three years, which means we’ve been up to it,” said Milan coach Stefano Pioli.
His guardian angel in the first place, he who allowed AC Milan to take a step forward, including on the European scene, compared to his prestigious predecessor Gianluigi Donnarumma. A stat that kills perfectly sums up Mike Maignan’s impact on the 2022 Italian champion: the former Lille player scored 26 clean sheets in 56 games with AC Milan. What else ?