Milan beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Spaniard Brahim Diaz scored the only goal seven minutes later.
The return will take place in north London on Wednesday, March 8th.
not in very good condition
Atletico Madrid were very strong in the round of 16, when seven-time finalists AC Milan played their last game in the Champions League knockout stage in 2014. The last win was in 2013 when Barcelona lost 2-0 at home.
Milan have yet to win against Tottenham in their last four games in Europe. Like Milan, the Spurs have not been at their best in recent weeks. That goes for coach Antonio Conte, who had gallbladder surgery two weeks ago and should have been much calmer than usual.
Former Internazionale coach kept Dutch new signing Arnaut Danjuma on the bench against Milan. He also had to improvise in midfield. Denmark’s Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was suspended and Rodrigo Bentancur injured in the knee, putting Spurs into the last 16 with a late goal in Marseille.
two teenagers
As a result, Oliver Skipp (22) and first-time Pape Sarr (20) were two teenagers in midfield. The Senegalese Sarr was still playing in the World Cup, despite being on the bench for ninety minutes against the Netherlands.
There was an exit for Milan too: in the absence of the injured Sergiño Dest and Andrea Florenzi, 21-year-old German Malick Thiaw was allowed to start at right-back. Zlatan Ibrahimovic watched from the stands: the Swede is not even registered in the Champions League.
After a minute’s silence for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, Milan started the game with determination. Especially with Theo Hérnandez and Rafael Leão, the left wing showed itself seven minutes later and got results.
Hérnandez won the header against Cristián Romero – the two knew each other from the World Cup final in Qatar – chasing the ball but saw his shot deflected by Fraser Forster.
Scot, who made his first Champions League game since Celtic’s 6-1 loss to Barcelona in 2013, also managed to reverse Diaz’s rebound. However, he got a second chance and crossed the line with a header: 1-0.
These three tries in the seventh minute were the Italians’ only shots into the penalty area the entire game. There wasn’t much to enjoy as the Spurs weren’t very good offensively either.
Tottenham threatened once when Son Heung-min rebounded from goalkeeper Tatarusanu after a long attack and then Harry Kane took aim at the ball from under the crossbar.
This action didn’t make it into the stats either because Son was offside at the start of his sprint.
In the second half, both teams played without pulling the handbrake. The only moment worth mentioning was the razor sharpness Romero did to the legs of Sandro Tonali, the only Italian in Milan base tonight. Romero escaped well with a yellow card.
With ten minutes left, Milan suddenly had two big chances. New substitute Charles De Ketelaere had a head-to-head but failed to score. And Thiaw sent the header right off the post.
Tottenham woke up in a rush and started with the backup Danjuma but not much came out. And so this duel will be decided in three weeks in London.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
