Giovanni Di Lorenzo still hasn’t come back. The Neapolitan side thought he had equalized three minutes from the end of the quarter-final first leg of the 100% Italian Champions League against AC Milan. The Napoli captain’s close shot should have ended up in the Milan left corner to allow Napoli to come back from Lombardy with a score of 1-1.
Yes, but here it is. The Rossoneri goalkeeper is a certain Mike Maignan. And the new holder in the goal of the France team is untenable at the moment. With an almost miraculous parade, the former Lille player managed to get the ball out for a corner and preserve a short and precious victory before returning next week to Campania.
“Maignan is an excellent goalkeeper, he made some good saves,” commented Di Lorenzo soberly. In effect. “Magic Mike”, who had already been monstrous with the Blues in Ireland (0-1), with in particular an exceptional parade at the end of the match, made five high-class saves on his lawn at San Siro. Since his arrival in Milan, Maignan has left the field 26 times (out of 56 games) without having conceded a single goal. Which is no coincidence…
“Before signing for AC Milan, I warned Paolo Maldini (Editor’s note: the technical director) that he was not going to be disappointed, because he was a very good recruit. He is a natural leader and demonstrated it in our locker room, explained in our columns Olivier Giroud, his partner in club and selection. He captured the hearts of the Tifosi and earned the nickname of Magic Mike. »
“He is a sure guy, he will never plant you, continued Nicolas de Préville, his former teammate at Losc. You can go into battle with him with your eyes closed. In a locker room, he is one of those people who stands out. There are not masses like him. »
