A struggling Milan side have proven that they can still perform on the biggest stage, as they beat Tottenham 1-0 in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League.
After San Siro showcased a beautiful banner which affirmed Milanisti’s love for their club on Valentine’s day, it was time for Champions League to return. Milan had a dream start. Theo Hernandez won an aerial battle against Cristian Romero and fired at Fraser Forster, but the goalkeeper saved. Brahim Diaz tried a rebound which was saved again, but the third attempt finally went in.
Tottenham had most of possesion in the second half, but they couldn’t really trouble the Rossoneri. There was a sequence before half-time where Ciprian Tatarusanu was called into action. The goalkeeper denied Son one on one, Kane hit the bar on the rebound and Tatarusanu slapped it away before Kane could take another try. It didn’t matter anyway, as Son was already offside.
The second half was, like the first, not the most exciting half of football. Milan looked solid at the back and defended their lead quite comfortably. The Rossoneri got two massive chances to double their lead late in the match. First, substitute Charles de Ketelaere failed to head the ball towards goal, while shortly after Malick Thiaw almost capped off his great game with a goal, but his header also missed the target, although he came closer than his Belgian teammate.
Player Ratings
Tatarusanu (7); Kalulu (6.5), Kjaer (5.5), Thiaw (7.5); Saelemaekers (6), Krunic (6), Tonali (6.5), Hernández (6.5); Leão (6.5), Diaz (7), Giroud (6).
Substitutes: De Ketelaere (5), Messias (6), Pobega (-), Rebic (-).
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Jurre van Wanrooij | GIFN
