Altintop and Kluivert give Serie A the chance to dream of a Champions League final

There are three Italian teams on the same side of the Champions League bracket and that means the dream of a final appearance is very much alive.

Today’s draw was put in the hands of Hamit Altintop and Patrick Kluivert in Nyon and it saw three Serie A sides present among the final eight teams left in the competition for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Rather than pair each up with one of the true elite like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Manchester City, it pitted Milan against Napoli while Inter have been drawn against Benfica. Moreover, the winners of each tie will face each other in the semi-finals.

That means that for the first time since the 2017-18 season, Italy will once again occupy a place among the best four in Europe. Milan or Napoli will equal the great run of Eusebio Di Francesco’s Roma, who lost dramatically to Liverpool having beaten Barcelona in the quarter-finals, while Inter could also be there.

If the Nerazzurri were to get through then it would guarantee an Italian team in the final for the first time since 2017 when Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1.