AC Milan, Real Madrid reach Champions League semis

AFP [ALBERTO PIZZOLI/ ADRIAN DENNIS]

AC Milan have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since they won the trophy 16 years ago.

A first-half goal from Olivier Giroud at Napoli secured a 1-1 draw and 2-1 aggregate win for Milan despite a barrage of pressure on Tuesday.

Napoli battled until the end but could not break down the resilient Milan defence until striker Victor Osimhen equalised three minutes into stoppage time with a bullet header but it was too late as the referee ended the match seconds later.

Seven-time European champions Milan will now face either Inter Milan or Benfica, who meet on Wednesday at the San Siro with the Italian side leading 2-0 from the first leg.

Milan coach Stefano Pioli said he would welcome a semi-final against their city rivals.

Elsewhere, holders Real Madrid breezed past Chelsea into the semi-finals with Rodrygo's double securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge to set up a likely mouth-watering clash with Manchester City.

Chelsea's hopes of maintaining interest in a woeful season always looked slender after losing last week in the Bernabeu and Rodrygo put them out of their misery with two second-half goals to confirm Real's superiority with a 4-0 aggregate win.

The hosts had 19 goal attempts but once again they lacked any cutting edge as they lost a fourth match in succession in all competitions since the club's record scorer Frank Lampard returned as interim manager.

N'Golo Kante spurned two chances to cut the deficit and Real's former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois made a crucial save just before halftime to frustrate his old club who have now managed only one goal in their last six games.

Real, bidding for a record-extending 15th European crown, bided their time and Rodrygo opened the scoring in the 58th minute, before tapping in again in the 80th to spark a mass exodus of Chelsea fans who had seen enough.

Despite spending around 600 million pounds ($745 million) on players since a Todd Boehly-led takeover, the London club have now lost four games in a row for the first time since 1993.

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