Serie A champions AC Milan drew first blood in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Brahim Diaz’s header gave the seven-time European champions a 1-0 victory over the Premier League side in an evenly contested match at the San Siro.
Brahim Díaz the hero as Milan beat Tottenham for the first time 🔴⚫️#UCL pic.twitter.com/XTKI1OZkZi
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 14, 2023
The Spanish-Moroccan, who is on loan from Real Madrid, reactest quickest to poke home his own rebound after two great saves from Spurs’ goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
The rest of the first half was full of end-to-end action, but both sides lacked the cutting edge to find the back of the net.
Substitute Charles De Ketelaere should have doubled Milan’s lead seconds after coming on, but the Belgian failed to connect properly to a cross from Olivier Giroud.
Another substitute Junior Messias, who came in for Alexis Saelemaekers, should have finally put the tie to bed, but his header from about five yards out failed to hit the target.
The North Londoners came close to ensuring the Rossoneri rued their missed chances, but Three Lions defender Eric Dier failed to beat Cyprian Tatarusanu from close range off a corner kick from Ivan Perisic.
First Milan knockout win in ten years 👏 #UCL pic.twitter.com/hGATol5GZ6
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 14, 2023
The match ended in favour of the Italian giants for their first Champions League knockout win in ten years, as they take a lone goal advantage to London for the second leg.
The victory was the first time Milan had defeated Tottenham in European competitions after four previous attempts ended in two draws and two losses. It was also their first win against English opposition in their last 10 games (one draw, 8 losses) since they defeated Arsenal 4-0 in the Champions League in 2012.
Antonio Conte’s team, on the other hand, are the first English side to lose four Champions League knockout stage games in a row since their city rivals Arsenal did so between 2016 and 2017.
