AC Milan exit from the UEFA Champions League despite a dominant performance against Tottenham Hotspur
AC Milan played the 2nd leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Spurs' home turf, White Hart Lane, on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.
After complete dominance in the match, Milan ended up being knocked out of the Champions League; as the Italians failed to find the back of the net and the match ended a stalemate at 0-0. In the first leg, Tottenham managed to register a victory with just a solitary goal at Milan.
The Rossoneri played with domination, great tactics and fast pace, and managed to outgun the Spurs but the finishing moves were not found. The closest the Italians got to the goal was just two half chances that came Robinho’s way, one in each half.
Despite missing out on most of their midfielders, Rossoneri were the better team throughout the game especially through the first half where the Italians maintained good pressure and possession, keeping the English outfit quiet.
The Spurs were forced to stay on the back foot for most of the game, but in the 2nd half the English outfit managed to counter-attack and steal-back possession. Eventually the dominance of the Rossoneri didn’t pay off and the match went into a goalless draw.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Flamini-c24685, the Milan midfielder, was disappointed and sad over the exit from the Champions League, as he believed that the Italians were worthy of going through to the next round.
The midfielder in his post-match comments said, “We were here to earn qualification and it did not arrive, so we are sad, as we gave our all and the goal did not come. It’s a shame, but that is football. We spent the entire match in Tottenham’s half, looking for the goal. Everyone saw we played a great game with the right spirit.”
Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, accepted that Milan were the better team in the contest and they outplayed his team. Redknapp said, “Milan made it difficult for us to get near them with that fantastic ability in their team. It was hard work out there tonight, Milan are a good side and you can see why they’re a great club with the tradition of winning the Champions League.”
The Spurs boss, after having a tough 90 minutes, was delighted to be in the last 8 of the Champions League and called it a great achievement for the club which also came well deserved. Tottenham stars, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Crouch-c29741, acknowledged Milan for their outstanding performance and reckoned the Spurs to be lucky for the draw at home as they were forced to stay on the back-foot in front of the Rossoneri.
AC Milan currently leads the Serie A with a lead of 5 points over the second seated city-mates, Inter Milan. The Italians after the dropout of the Champions League are keen to fully focus on winning the Italian League this season and are confident after a good performance against Tottenham.
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