Prior to Frank Anguissa's departure, Napoli controlled the San Siro for a significant portion of Wednesday's 1-0 victory for Milan.
Frank Anguissa's "unfair" dismissal was lamented by Luciano Spalletti as Napoli suffered another absence setback in Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal loss at Milan.
Ismael Bennacer's goal in the 40th minute was the deciding factor in Milan's 1-0 victory at San Siro, and the Napoli midfielder was sent off as a result after committing two bookable offenses in the span of four second-half minutes.
With Anguissa's ban, Napoli's roster of absentees, which already included injured striker Victor Osimhen and his replacement Giovanni Simeone, has grown.
The Serie A leaders have capable substitutes going into next week's return leg in Naples, but the Napoli coach was not satisfied by referee Istvan Kovacs' rulings.
Spalletti told Sky Sport, "I have nothing to say; speaking after games is a waste of time; there is no going back."
"Any absence at this time hurts us, but he is replaced by someone else.
We wouldn't have achieved the results we have if it hadn't been this way during the entire season.
"We have faith in the group, but I think it's unfair that Anguissa won't be joining us. He was supposed to be replaced, and as I considered who to bring on for the three replacements, I realized I was missing the third.
"I regret that he continued to play for two minutes while I made a choice. I'll reflect on what I did, and [UEFA Referees Committee Chairman Roberto] Rosetti will speak in place of the official referee.
I've seen that Anguissa plays a lot of ball... Look at [Piotr] Zielinski's yellow card and the one [Rade] Krunic did not receive.
Milan has upset Napoli twice in the past ten days, first trouncing Spalletti's team in Europa then thrashing the Partenopei 4-0 in Serie A.
Two of Napoli's five losses this season came against Milan, making Stefano Pioli's squad the only one to defeat the Partenopei more than once.
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