AC Milan battled to a 1-0 win over Tottenham in the first leg of our round of 16 Champions League tie on Tuesday night, with Brahim Diaz’s goal securing an important victory.
The Rossoneri started well and grabbed the crucial first goal with Diaz eventually forcing the ball over the line after good work from Theo Hernandez down the left flank.
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While both sides had chances, Milan dug in and produced a battling display to keep another important clean sheet, and our lead could, and perhaps should, have been extended in the latter stages with both Charles De Ketelaere and Malick Thiaw misses big chances.
Nevertheless, it’s an important advantage to take into the return leg next month, and Stefano Pioli will be pleased that we’re starting to put together a run of results and build momentum after our win over Torino last week.
AC Milan player ratings vs Tottenham:
Ciprian Tatarusanu, 6.5 – Made some crucial interventions throughout the game, while his distribution was tidy. Hasn’t always felt like a reliable presence between the posts, but a solid effort in this one.
Pierre Kalulu, 7 – Defended resolutely and limited Tottenham’s threat down their left side. Whether it was getting across to help nullify Perisic or doubling up on Kane in the middle, did his job really well.
Simon Kjaer, 7 – Did brilliantly to keep Kane under wraps, as he never gave him space or time to influence how Spurs built their attacks. Used his experience and defensive qualities well to lead by example.
Malick Thiaw, 7.5 – An excellent shift as he has wasted little time in solidifying his place in the side after finally getting a chance. Physical and aggressive with his defending, the only negative of the night was that he didn’t add the icing on the cake with a goal with his late header going wide.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 6 – Didn’t offer much in the attacking phase, but did really well with his defensive duties of tracking Perisic and ensuring he wasn’t able to have an influence on the game.
Rade Krunic, 6.5 – Battled and scrapped in midfield to try and give us a foothold in the game and a level of control. Would still like to see more from him in possession to influence our transitional play, but nonetheless, had an important job in the midfield battle and did it well.
Sandro Tonali, 7 – Tireless shift as he put everything into trying to dictate play in midfield, in and out of possession. Back to being an influential presence in the side, and we need him performing at this level consistently while he’ll no doubt relish having Bennacer back beside him on his return from injury.
Theo Hernandez, 7 – Made a much bigger impact in an attacking sense in this game as he returned to making those marauding runs down the left flank to add an important dynamic to our attack. Instrumental in the build-up to our goal too, and so this was certainly a positive step in the right direction after a dip in form.
Brahim Diaz, 7.5 – A big performance. Not only due to scoring the winning goal as he persevered and eventually forced it over the line, but played with real grit and tenacity throughout. Added an element of quality with his work in the final third and midfield too, and so it was an all-round positive effort.
Rafael Leao, 6.5 – Had chances and if there was better finishing from his teammates could have had an assist. However, wasn’t to be for him in this game, but he did add an important spark with his pace and running on the ball to provide a threat to keep the Spurs defence on alert.
Olivier Giroud, 6.5 – Pressed well to apply pressure further up the pitch and constantly played lovely, deft touches and passes to his teammates to link our play together. Almost turned creator on occasion too and so despite not being able to make a decisive impact, he played a crucial role for us.
Substitutes:
Messias Junior, 6 – Added freshness in the final 20 minutes as he pressed constantly and tracked back to help us see out the game.
Charles De Ketelaere, 5.5 – Desperate to see him just get one moment that could turn his season around. Did well to get in a position to score from Giroud’s knock down, but couldn’t show ruthlessness with his finish as he spurned a big chance. Hopefully something is coming soon to act as a catalyst for him to kick-start his campaign.
Tommaso Pobega, N/A
Ante Rebic, N/A