UEFA Champions League – Half time review: Auxerre versus A.C Milan
Auxerre started the match on the front foot and that was shown clearly in the first ten minutes of the match; Sammaritano had a lot of joy down the wings for the French side. On two occasions, Sammaritano got past Zambrotta but failed
to deliver a good cross in. It was a sign of things to come as Sammaritano continued his efforts to create chances for his team mates throughout the first half of the match in France between Auxerre and Milan.
In the 8th minute of the match, Milan tried their luck on goal after Ibrahimovic and Robinho combined well at the edge of the Auxerre box. It was the former Barcelona striker who nodded the ball down to the Brazilian
forward. Robinho’s ensuing volley from around 25 yards out was off the mark as the score line remained at nil all.
In the 12th minute of the encounter, Ambrosini committed himself to a horrendous two footed challenge on Sammaritano but the Italian was not even booked for his offensive tackle. It was a dangerous tackle which
left Sammaritano seething with pain, nonetheless the referee deemed it an illegal challenge and gave the free kick to Auxerre but he failed to book the A.C Milan veteran midfielder.
The 13th minute of the match saw Dudka taking the free kick for Auxerre, the set piece shot took a huge deflection off the wall and thus forced Abbiati into a save inside the Milan goal. In the 19thminute
of the match, the referee had to stop play as Auxerre’s winger Sammaritano suffered a head injury. It looked like a heavy knock at first but the French club’s forward did well to get back on his feet and continue the rest of the half for Auxerre.
The French club side struggled to keep possession of the ball in the midfield area as Milan maintained a monopoly on ball possession, up front Ibrahimovic tried hard to make an impact on the game but Auxerre’s strict marking on the Swedish
striker made it hard for him to pull off any act of significance.
In the 22nd minute of the match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Seedorf linked up outside Auxerre’s penalty area. The tall striker headed the ball down to the Dutch midfielder who let loose a heavy strike on goal but the
ball was just off the target by a matter of inches as Seedorf failed to make the goalkeeper work with his shot.
In the 35th minute of the match, Auxerre almost drew first blood as Birsa successfully got to the by-line and whipped in a cross in behind the Milan defence but there was no one in front of goal for the French club
to connect with Birsa’s ball as the move went to waste.
In the 39th minute, Gattuso found himself in space inside the Auxerre penalty area after their defence made a mistake inside their own half. It was a brilliant opportunity for the Italian national to score for his
side but Genaro’s shot from 16 yards out flew over the bar as Milan wasted another golden opportunity to take the lead.
In the 44th minute, Abate raced down the wing for A.C Milan and delivered a ball in but his cross was gathered in by Auxerre’s goalkeeper who did well to hold onto the ball despite pressure from Ibrahimovic. Half
time thus came in the match between Auxerre and Milan with the score line at 0-0.
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