Victor Osimhen continued his fine scoring record with a goal in each half and Piotr Zielinski converted a penalty in the second half as Napoli advanced 5-0 on aggregate.
Napoli ease past Eintracht Frankfurt to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time as three Italian teams make the last eight
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| Image: Victor Osimhen continued his fine scoring record |
Napoli's 3-0 thumping of Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday enabled Spalletti's men to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history.
Victor Osimhen continued his fine scoring record with a goal in each half and Piotr Zielinski converted a penalty in the second half as Napoli advanced 5-0 on aggregate.
It is the first time since 2006 that three Italian teams have progressed to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition.
There are no further restrictions on teams from the same country facing each other so Napoli could be pitted against Inter Milan or AC Milan when the draw is made on Friday.
The other teams in the final eight are Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Trouble in the streets of the city between supporters marred the evening but on the pitch it was one-way traffic as a Piotr Zielinski penalty sealed victory for the Serie A leaders.
Napoli were always favourites to advance after a good win in Germany and Osimhen's fine header on the stroke of half-time sent them on their way.
A close-range finish after the restart all-but secured safe passage before Zielinksi won and scored a spot-kick.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli fans have clashed ahead of their Champions League tie at the Armando Diego Maradona stadium.
Opta stats:
Napoli have reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history
Napoli's win marks the joint-biggest aggregate victory by an Italian team in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, along with Juventus 5-0 Celtic in 2012-13, and Milan 5-0 Intern in 2004-05 (one of those legs was an awarded victory to Milan).
Following Napoli's progression, and along with Intern and Milan, this is the first time that as many as three Italian teams have qualified for the quarter-finals in a UEFA Champions League campaign since 2005-06 (Inter, Milan and Juventus).
Napoli have scored more goals in the UEFA Champions League than any other team this season (25) - indeed, only three Italian sides have ever netted more in a single campaign in the competition (Juventus 30 in 2002-03, Inter 26 in 2002-03 and Lazio 26 in 1999-00).
Victor Osimhen became the first Napoli player to score in both legs of a UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie, while his brace in this game was the first scored by a Nigerian player in the knockout stages of the competition.
Among all players within the big five European leagues, only Marcus Rashford (15) has scored more goals across all competitions in 2023 than Napoli's Victor Osihmen (13).
Eintracht Frankfurt lost both legs of a knockout stage tie in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League for the first time, while two of their five defeats across the two competitions have now been against Napoli.
The Napoli exhibited themselves in a display of enormous superiority against a powerless Eintracht and confirmed their presence in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in their history. Spalletti's men passed over the German team with a decisive Osimhen.
The Nigerian, author of two goals, led the offensive festival of a team that sent a clear message to the rest of the teams: Napoli are a real threat.
Its cheerful and vertical football, its functioning at a collective level with names like Osimhen and Kavaratskhelia
make Spalletti's team a tough, daring team with enough quality to surprise anyone.
His self-sufficiency against Eintracht impresses . He dominated and controlled the clash in Frankfurt and thrashed, playing half throttle, the German team in Diego Armando Maradona.
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