'I know he's dangerous' - Tomori tells Thierry Henry how he defended against Osimhen
Published: April 19, 2023Chelsea academy product Fikayo Tomori was at his best as AC Milan secured a semifinal spot in the UEFA Champions League after playing out an exciting 1-1 draw with Napoli at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Tuesday night.
A potential Milan derby is on the cards in the semifinals as the Rossoneri will face the winner of the quarterfinal clash between Inter Milan and Benfica on Wednesday night.
In a second leg of drama, veteran attacker Olivier Giroud, who saw his penalty saved in the 22nd minute, put Milan in front on the night two minutes before halftime.
Napoli also missed from the penalty spot as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's effort was saved by Mike Maignan, who was beaten in stoppage time by a header from Osimhen.
It was a resolute rear guard action from Tomori and his center back partner Simon Kjær as they were able to contain the Napoli number 9 until the 93rd minute.
Shortly after the final whistle, Tomori was on media duties and one of the questions he was asked during the interview with CBS Sports was to explain how he managed to defend against Osimhen.
CBS pundit and Arsenal's all-time top scorer, Thierry Henry noted that every time the ball was on the side and a cross was about to go in, Tomori defended in the old school way by holding tight to the Nigeria international.
Responding, Tomori told Henry : "Obviously Victor is having a great season and I know how dangerous he is. I just tried to make sure I got my body in between in and the ball at all times as much as possible.
"I was disappointed he managed to score at the end. I just tried to get to him as tight as possible and try not to give him a lot of space.
" We actually frustrated them and we limited the amount of times that the ball could get to him in dangerous areas, and when the ball actually came we defended really well, we got tied to him, we had a lot of cover.
"Coming into a game like this with a player of that quality you know that you have to be tied to him, you have to be switched on and I think we were today."
Osimhen exited the Champions League with his reputation intact, having netted five goals in six appearances in this season's competition.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
Photo Credit : acmilan.com
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