Tottenham will have to produce a Champions League comeback after Brahim Diaz gave AC Milan a narrow win in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the San Siro.
Diaz nodded in early on after Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster had saved a Theo Hernandez shot and then superbly got a hand on the scorer’s initial follow-up attempt.
Antonio Conte’s side looked relatively comfortable for long periods of the contest against the seven-time European champions – as a youthful pairing of Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp deputised ably for the suspended Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the injured Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield.
However, they were rarely able to build any attacking momentum with their front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and, until his withdrawal, Dejan Kulusevski well shackled by a disciplined home defence.
Aside from ambitious long-range efforts from Emerson Royal and Sarr, Conte’s side appeared most capable of threatening from set-pieces but neither Kane nor Eric Dier were able to direct headers on goal from two excellent Son deliveries.
In the end, Spurs were grateful for the profligacy of the hosts as Belgian midfielder Charles de Ketelaere and German defender Malick Thiaw both headed excellent opportunities – to put the Italian side firmly in control of the tie – wide.
Had either nodded in from close range, Spurs would have faced an even more challenging recovery operation in the return leg in London on Wednesday, 8 March.
As it is, they must try to turn the tie round without Dier, who will be suspended after he collected a second-half booking.
Milan continue bounce back against Spurs
Prior to last Friday’s victory over Torino, Stefano Pioli’s side had endured a miserable start to 2023, picking up just two points from a possible 15 – and slipping to fifth in Serie A.
However, while they do not possess the star quality or swagger of the great Milan sides, they displayed plenty of know-how to carve out a slender lead.
Their only regret will be not to have put the tie beyond a Spurs side that competed well but barely laid a glove on them in the final third.
As it is, a place in the quarter-finals very much hangs in the balance, although Conte will still have to figure out a way to compensate for the loss of Uruguay international Bentancur, who has become a key player since arriving from Juventus just over 12 months ago.
The Italian will also demand greater diligence in defence from his side with Argentine Cristian Romero sure to come under scrutiny for his role in Milan’s win.
The World Cup-winning centre-back was outjumped and left floundering by Hernandez in the build-up to the home side’s goal and was later booked for an ill-timed challenge on the lively Rafael Leao.
Stopping the Portugal international’s menacing runs in the second leg will be critical to Spurs’ hopes as they bid to prevent Milan from reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012.
Player of the match
GiroudOlivier Giroud
AC Milan
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Squad number9Player nameGiroudAverage rating
6.79
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Squad number19Player nameHernándezAverage rating
6.77
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Squad number20Player nameKalulu
Average rating6.55
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Squad number24Player nameKjaer
Average rating6.51
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Squad number8Player nameTonali
Average rating6.46
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Squad number10Player nameDíaz
Average rating6.44
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Squad number17Player nameRafael Leão
Average rating6.43
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Squad number28Player nameThiaw
Average rating6.22
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Squad number90Player nameDe Ketelaere
Average rating6.09
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Squad number32Player namePobega
Average rating6.08
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Squad number12Player nameRebic
Average rating6.05
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Squad number1Player nameTatarusanu
Average rating6.03
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Squad number30Player nameJunior Messias
Average rating5.97
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Squad number33Player nameKrunic
Average rating5.84
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Squad number56Player nameSaelemaekers
Average rating5.79
Tottenham Hotspur
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Squad number29Player nameSarrAverage rating
6.66
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Squad number4Player nameSkippAverage rating
6.26
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Squad number20Player nameForsterAverage rating
5.89
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Squad number12Player nameEmerson RoyalAverage rating
5.72
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Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-minAverage rating
5.41
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Squad number17Player nameRomeroAverage rating
5.22
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Squad number14Player namePerisicAverage rating
5.20
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Squad number21Player nameKulusevskiAverage rating
5.19
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Squad number10Player nameKaneAverage rating
5.19
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Squad number34Player nameLengletAverage rating
4.97
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Squad number9Player nameRicharlisonAverage rating
4.76
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Squad number16Player nameDanjumaAverage rating
4.47
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Squad number15Player nameDierAverage rating
4.41
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Squad number33Player nameDaviesAverage rating
4.05
Line-ups
AC Milan
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Tatarusanu
- 20Kalulu
- 24Kjaer
- 28Thiaw
- 56SaelemaekersSubstituted forMessiasat 77′minutes
- 33Krunic
- 8TonaliBooked at 80minsSubstituted forPobegaat 86′minutes
- 19HernándezBooked at 90mins
- 10DíazSubstituted forDe Ketelaereat 77′minutes
- 17Rafael LeãoSubstituted forRebicat 90+1′minutes
- 9Giroud
Substitutes
- 2Calabria
- 5Ballo-Touré
- 12Rebic
- 27Origi
- 30Messias
- 32Pobega
- 46Gabbia
- 83Mirante
- 90De Ketelaere
- 92Nava
Tottenham
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 20Forster
- 17RomeroBooked at 48mins
- 15DierBooked at 63mins
- 34LengletSubstituted forDaviesat 81′minutes
- 12Emerson Royal
- 4Skipp
- 29Sarr
- 14Perisic
- 21KulusevskiSubstituted forRicharlisonat 70′minutes
- 7Son Heung-minSubstituted forDanjumaat 81′minutes
- 10Kane
Substitutes
- 6D Sánchez
- 9Richarlison
- 16Danjuma
- 23Porro
- 25Tanganga
- 27Lucas Moura
- 33Davies
- 40Austin
- 41Whiteman
- 45Devine
- Referee:
- Sandro Schärer
- Attendance:
- 74,320
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, AC Milan 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
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Second Half ends, AC Milan 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
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Foul by Ivan Perisic (Tottenham Hotspur).
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Pierre Kalulu (AC Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Theo Hernández (AC Milan) is shown the yellow card.
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Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Theo Hernández (AC Milan).
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Substitution, AC Milan. Ante Rebic replaces Rafael Leão.
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Oliver Skipp (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Charles De Ketelaere (AC Milan).
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Attempt missed. Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Simon Kjaer.
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Substitution, AC Milan. Tommaso Pobega replaces Sandro Tonali.
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Attempt missed. Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Oliver Skipp.
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Hand ball by Malick Thiaw (AC Milan).
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Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Eric Dier tries a through ball, but Ben Davies is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Pierre Kalulu.
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Attempt blocked. Pape Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Richarlison.
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Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Ben Davies replaces Clément Lenglet.