For years, if not decades, English Premier League teams dominated the Champions League, grabbing the most of the silverware on the way. Unlike them, Serie A clubs had seen a dreadful decline over the years, especially after the late 90s and early 00s, when they were truly a defining force in Europe.And now, in 2023, the tables have turned again – the Italians are again back on top, with not less than three of their sides in the UCL quarter-finals. Napoli, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Moreover, all three of them have reached the next round without conceding a single goal in six legs against Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur and Porto, respectively!Inter 🤝 Napoli 🤝 MilanFor the first time since 2006, there are THREE Serie A teams in the Champions League quarterfinals 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/3qfYyyz7kf— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 15, 2023 Last but not least, all of them are led by a homegrown coach: Luciano Spalletti (Napoli), Stefano Pioli (AC Milan) and Simone Inzaghi (Inter).That sort of outcome surprised most pundits across Europe, but the fact is the solid defence has been, is and always will be a foundation for excellent results. Good old Catenaccio, a defensive-oriented football approach founded in Italy, once again proved its value.Teams qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals:🇩🇪 FC Bayern🇪🇸 Real Madrid🇮🇹 Napoli 🇮🇹 Inter 🇮🇹 AC Milan🏴 Chelsea 🏴 Manchester City🇵🇹 Benfica3/8 teams from Serie A. Great to see & congrats💙First time Napoli are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/hkXoGQ5TeD— Jerry Mancini (@jmancini8) March 15, 2023 Truth be told, Spalletti’s boys are of a different ilk, as they managed to put five past Eintracht’s keeper, mostly thanks to their impeccable attacking duo Khvicha and Victor Osimhen.UCL: Osimhen and Napoli seem unstoppable, it ended as expected at BernabeuOn the other hand, Milan-based rivals did the exact same thing – netted once in the first leg at home and then defended vigorously in the return leg, holding on to a goalless draw that sent them to the 1/4 finals.The new football order is established, and the Italians are the ones with a leading role, indeed.##NAJAVA_MECA_7099683##
