Milan with noses in front of Spurs before London trip

AC Milan got the first laugh over Conte's Tottenham as they scraped a 1-0 win at the San Siro. Brahim's first-half opener proved sufficient despite relentless Spurs pressure throughout both halves, as the Italian side go into the final leg in London with the mathematical advantage. Conte's men had clearly drilled an attacking mindset into his side, as they were forever pressing the Milan goal. It was all in vain, as few chances mean they head back to England with all the work to do.

Diaz bundled in the only goal of the game in the seventh minute at a packed San Siro to give Milan the advantage before next month's second leg in London. The Spaniard's strike was the first and one of very few real chances of a scrappy game which highlighted the far from sparkling form of both teams heading into match.

Milan came into their first knockout in the competition since 2014 with their season in the balance after a horrible run of results in the past month which left their Serie A title defence in tatters. But the hosts have a decent chance of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012 after restricting injury-hit Spurs to very little on Antonio Conte's return to Milan.

Conte, in the Spurs dugout two weeks after undergoing gallbladder surgery, handed the midfield reins to youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr after losing Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma to injury last week. And his team failed to supply their record scorer Harry Kane with any service, Milan having great chances to extend their aggregate lead in quick succession which were fluffed by Charles De Ketelaere and Malick Thiaw in the closing stages.

 

February 14, 2023