AC Milan centre-back Cristian Zapata insists his side flying the flag for Italy in the Champions League is very important for the peninsula.
After Juventus were eliminated from the competition on Wednesday afternoon in Galatasaray and Napoli followed suit in cruel circumstances, the Rossoneri’s 0-0 draw with Ajax was enough to see them progress to the next round.
“We went down to 10 men after 20 minutes but in the end we are happy because we managed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League,” Zapata told UEFA.
“We wanted to play an offensive game and try to get that goal but after the sending off of [Riccardo] Montolivo we had to think then about defending the 0-0.
“I think we have achieved something very important for Italian football. Now we must try to show that same determination in the league.”
