Antonio Conte speaks ...
“I think it was better today, high intensity and I think we played against a good team,” he tells BT Sport. “Don’t forget, Milan won the league last season in Italy. To concede that first goal, we can do much better. We concede a goal after only maybe five minutes and then we try to crerate a situation to score but Milan defended very well. We had chances to score but at the end we are talking about a defeat.”
On Skipp and Sarr: “I’m really satisfied for both playersbecause I think Sarr and Skippy played a very good game and they showed that the trust that we have in them is justified. They repaid it. Don’t forget that now we are with three midfielders and we maybe have to continue for the rest of the season with these three midfielders. These performances from Skippy and Sarr make me more relaxed.”
Match report: AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of an often scrappy game to give AC Milan a slender lead ahead of the second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Guardian’s chief football correspondent David Hytner reports …
Oliver Skipp: “I enjoyed every minute of it,” the young SPurs midfielder tells BT SPort. “It wasn’t the result we wanted but we’re still in it so we’ll take the positives from that. It was nice to make my debut … well, from the start anyway. It’s always something you dream of as a kid, playing in the Champions League.
“It wasn’t the best start because it was a goal that we didn’t need to concede but I think we reacted well and neither team created too many chances but now there’s a second leg and we have a deficit to come back from.”
On the trust placed in him and Pape Sarr by Conte: “I think me and Pape, we did our jobs in midfield. There were things we could have done better and things we did well. I think it was nice to gain the manager’s trust and hopefully we repaid it.”
Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr: Despite the pre-match fears of Spurs fans, Skipp and Sarr performed very well for a Spurs side that huffed and puffed but never looked like scoring from open play. Conte’s side did have plenty of set-pieces but failed to do anything of note with any of them. Eric Dier, having picked up a booking, will miss the next leg through suspension.
A quick recap
AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Tottenham got off to an awful start, going a goal down to a Brahim Diaz header despite the best attempts of their goalkeeper Fraser Forster. Chances for either side were few and far between from that point until midway through the second half. Milan missed two sitters in quick succession, substitute Charles De Ketalere and Malick Thiaw the guilty men after heading wide when scoring looked far easier. Eric Dier also went close but overall, Tottenham will be pleased enough to escape with nothing more than a one-goal deficit.
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Full time: AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
90+6 min: Tatarusanu dawdles over a goal-kick, eventually takes it and the final whistle is blown by Sandro Scharer. It’s all over at the San Siro, with the second leg to come in London on 8 March.
90+4 min: Harry Kane is bested by Simon Kjaer again, the Dane staying on his feet and failing to let Kane get off a shot after the Tottenham captain had found himself in space and running through the penalty area towards the Milan goal. Kjaer hasn’t given Kane an inch all night.
90+2 min: Theo Hernandez gets booked for dissent after shoving Richarlison to the ground. Nothing comes from the Tottenham free-kick.
90 min: Milan substitution: Leao makes way for Ante Rebic. We’re into six minutes of added time.
89 min: A curled cross from Giroud finds Leao galloping towards the Tottenham goal but the fatigued winger isn’t quite quick enough to control the ball properly and Forster cleans up at the back for Spurs.
86 min: Milan substitution: Tommaso Pobega on for Sandro Tonali.
85 min: This game has really sparked into life in the past 10 minutes and Spurs have made more subsitutions. Arnaut Danjuma and Ben Davies are on for Lenglet and Son.
82 min: Now it’s Eric Dier’s turn to miss a decent scoring opportunity, failing to make sufficient contact with an inswinger from a corner when completely unmarked and about eight yards from goal.
78 min: Milan miss two glorious chances to extend their lead, both coming from poor headers after crosses from the left. Just on as a sub, De Ketalere somehow steers the ball wide of the far post when the goal was gaping after a flick from Giroud wafted his way. Moments later, Malick Thiaw headed wide from six yards when completely unmarked at the far post. Olivier Giroud looks distraught in the wake of these squandered opportunities.
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78 min: Milan double-substitution: Junior Messias and Charles De Ketelaere on for Saelemaekers and Brahim Diaz.
76 min: Eric Dier slides in to intercept a dangerous pass towards Brahim Diaz, who was making a run in behind. He vents his fury at Son, who had given the ball away in midfield.
75 min: Pape Sarr tries a shot from distance that sails wide, infuriating his team-mate Richarlison.
74 min: An Oliver Skipp pull-back into the Milan penalty area is met by Richarlison but his effort is blocked some way from goal.
73 min: Simon Kjaer heads away an Ivan Perisic cross from deep into the Milan penalty area. Spurs are chugging away gamely but creating little or nothing in the way of scoring opportunities.
70 min: Spurs substitution: Richarlison on. Dejan Kulusevski makes way, having had a poor game by his usual lofty standards.
68 min: Milan free-kick, a long way out. Hernandez curls the ball towards the edge of the Spurs penalty area, trying to pick out Giroud. He doesn’t find his intended target.
67 min: Milan corner after good work by Leao. Theo Hernandez’s inswinger is dismal and cleared at the near post.
66 min: Lenglet beats two Milan defenders and tries to drill a low cross into the Milan penalty area. Simon Kjaer reads his intentions and the ball goes out for another off his outstretched field. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
65 min: Clement Lenglet tests the hobbling Milan goalkeeper with a ball from deep into the box. The goalkeeper grabs it confidently and dispatches it upfield. He seems better.
64 min: Eric Dier fouls Olivier Giroud and gets a yellow card that seems fairly harsh. He’ll miss the second leg through suspension.
62 min: Perisic’s inswinger is plucked from the air by Tatarusanu, who immediately winces and hops on one foot upon landing. He’s in obvious discomfort but Spurs put him under no pressure at that corner.
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61 min: Ciprian Tatarusanu, Milan’s second choice goalkeeper, does seem to have turned his ankle but he soldiers on for now. Play resumes and a Son cross from the right is deflected out for a corner.
59 min: Milan’s goalkeeper goes to ground, injured or possibly just time-wasting after contesting a high ball with Clement Lenglet. The Milan medics are summoned.
58 min: No, he can’t.
57 min: Over 10 minutes into thie second half and very, very little of note has happened beyond EMerson’s assassination attempt on Sandro Tonali. Spurs win a free-kick, 25 yards out, well left of centre. Let’s see if Son can conjure up something here …
54 min: Trying to take a throw-in near the Milan technical area, Alexis Saelemaekens is briefly startled by the sound of his manager Stefano Pioli roaring instructions in his ear. I think the guidance was for someone further upfield but Saelemaekers certainly got the message.
53 min: Milan threaten with a couple of forays upfield but don’t trouble Forster in the Spurs goal. The early goal aside, he’s had very little to do.
52 min: Spurs are struggling to create anything of note in a second half that’s been very scrappy so far.
47 min: Son gives the ball away deep in Milan territory but Spurs win it back moments later. It’s returned to Milan again and Romero takes out Sandro Tonali with a late, mistimed tackle that earns him a yellow card. He complains to the referee in the strongest possible terms despite his booking being thoroughly deserved. Should it have been red? Probably not but it was certainly veering towards orange. It was a daft challenge, there was no need for him to slide in like that. Tonali receives treatment and seems OK.
Second half: AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
46 min: Milan restart, a goal to the good and with no changes in personnel on either side.
A quick recap: Despite the best attempts of Fraser Forster who pulled off two saves – one of them bordering on miraculous – in the build-up, Tottenham went behind to an early Brahim Diaz header from no distance at all, the Spaniard showing great initiative to follow-up his own shot. Milan have been fairly comfortable ever since but Spurs have threatened at times, occasionally from one of their many set-pieces, and will fancy their chances of scoring a goal or two in the second half.
Half-time: AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
45+3 min: Milan scramble clear as Tottenham get forward again and then the visitors win another free-kick in a good position as Harry Kane leans into Simon Kjaer and falls over. Son sends the ball into the penalty area, Milan head clear and Romero is penalised for offside. It’s time for a break.
45+1 min: Not known for his lightning pace, Olivier Giroud still manages to get in behind the Spurs defence to latch on to a 60-yard punt downfield. With a better touch, he’d almost certainly have put his side two up. Spurs get away with it.
45 min: A low Son shot is saved well by Tatarusanu and Harry Kane hits the cross-bar with his follow-up. The ball bounces down and doesn’t cross the line but it wouldn’t have counted anyway because Son was offside in the build-up.
44 min: Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr have performed pretty well in the heart of the Tottenham midfield in this first half, working diligently and industriously but without doing anything particularly eye-catching.
42 min: Alexis Saelemaekers does superbly to get back and prevent a Son cross, giving away a corner in the process. Perisic’s floated delivery is comfortably caught by Ciprian Tatarusanu.
39 min: Theo Hernandez is looking a constant threat down the left-hand side, over- and under-lapping with Rafael Leao and getting into very advanced positions. Not for the first time in this game he gets the better of Romero, getting in behind the right-back and drilling the ball towards the near post. His hands behind his back to avoid giving away a penalty for handball, Eric Dier knees the ball out for a corner from which nothing comes.
38 min: The timely intervention of an Oliver Skipp big toe puts an end to a Milan attack and Cristian Romero takes possession of the ball.
37 min: Kane is fouled by Simon Kjaer, who wrestles him to the ground and perhaps catches him with a kick as the pair grapple near the halfway line.
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35 min: Spurts dominate possession in the middle third for a spell but are unable to settle on the ball or find an opening to get it forward as various Milan players swarm around them like angry bees.
32 min: Kulusevski receives the ball out on the right touchline but is once again unable to get the better of Malick Thiaw, who robs him of possession and advances upfield. The ref blows for a stoppage so Sandro Tonali, who is on the floor, can receive treatment. Tottenham’s players are unhappy because the AC Milan midfielder didn’t have a head injury.
30 min: Harry Kane goes down holding his face after shipping an accidental arm in the face from Simon Kjaer as the pair contested a Perisic cross to the far post. There’s a short break in play while he receives treatment.
28 min: Rafel Leao glides – and it really does look like he’s gliding – down the inside right for Milan after Son had failed to pick out Harry Kane with a pass. The Portuguese international plays the ball inside but Tottenham clear their lines.
27 min: Emerson tries his luck with a shot from distance but fires the ball straight at Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
25 min: Son takes what already seems like his 100th set-piece of the game already but his corner delivery is cleared.
24 min: Saelemaekers fouls Clement Lenglet before the Spurs defender can get a cross into the Milan penalty area from the left. The ball’s sent to the near post by Son and Perisic flicks it on. Tottenham win a corner.
22 min: Milan break upfield at speed on the counter, with Saelemaekers being released up the right flank by a Giroud diagonal from deep. He’s dispossessed and a promising move comes to nothing.
21 min: Free-kick for Spurs, wide on the left. Son sends another delivery into the mixer, where Eric Dier gets in front of his marker but sends a header flashing wide.
19 min: A sore looking Kjaer is escorted to the sideline by two medical staff, where he gets a brief pep-talk from his manager Stefano Pioli before returning to the field of play.
17 min: Heung-min Son sends another free-kick from a long way out into the Milan penalty area, where Milan’s defenders are lined up very deep. The ball’s headed clear and there’s a break in play so the man who cleared it, Simon Kjaer, can receive treatment for what looks like a head wound.
15 min: Spurs are being outnumbered in midfield and being put under serious pressure any time they have the ball. That Diaz goal prompted the San Siro to erupt and the home players are feeding off the emotions of their happy crowd. SPurs can’t afford to let this tie get away from them in these early stages.
13 min: Tottenham look seriously rattled after that early setback but go close to equalising from a corner. A Son free-kick is flicked on by Eric Dier but the ball carries through straight into the breadbasket of Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
8 min: Theo Hernandez beat a weak Cristian Romero in the air in the build-up and fired a low diagonal that Forster got down to keep out with his chest. Still on the ground, Forster somehow got up to get an outstretched hand to Diaz’s rifled follow-up from close range. The ball looped up in the air towards the cross-bar but Diaz had followed-up his own shot and was on hand to head home from a couple of inches out.
GOAL! AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Diaz 7)
Milan lead! Despite an unbelievable save from Fraser Forster in the immediate build-up, Brahim Diaz follows up his own effort to leather Milan into an early lead.
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5 min: Milan play the ball out from the back, slowly and steadily, with Rade Krunic playing it wide to Alexis Saelemaekers as they enter the Tottenham half. Clement Lenglet eventually puts a stop to the collective Milan gallop with an aggressive but fair tackle.
4 min: Dejan Kulusevski tries to jink and jag his way down the right flank but is dispossessed by a good tackle from Malick Thiaw that prompts cheers and a round of applause from the home fans. Thou shalt not pass! Or cross!
2 min: Tottenham play keep-ball in the opening minute but it’s Milan who surge forward first. Emerson Royal brings down Rafeal Leao illegally and Milan win an early free-kick in a good position, about 45 yards from the Spurs goal. Nothing comes of it.
AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur is go ...
1 min: Reffing his first Champions League knockout match, Sandro Scharer blows his whistle and Harry Kane gets the ball rolling. Tottenham play in white shirts, shorts and socks, while their hosts wear predominantly black kit with red stripes.
Not long now: The teams are out on the San Siro sward, where there’ll be a minute’s silence for the distressingly high number of victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake ahead of kick-off. It’s time for the pre-match handshakes, exchange of club pennants and coin-toss. Kick-off is imminent …
Some amusingly chippy reader correspondence: “So Poundland Mourinho, aka Antonio Conte, returns to San Siro,” writes Yash Gupta. “On one hand this should be a walk in the park for Spurs but with tactical genius Conte, who allows opponents to have total midfield control, this suddenly feels a different tie altogether.
“Sarr and Skipp are very good players but it is bit of a suicide mission at the best of times. Tottenham’s midfield mostly gets totally dominated even when Bentancur, who is the best midifielder in the team, plays. To sum this up - if Spurs win this, well Milan are crap. But if Spurs lose, adios Conte. I’d like Poch to come home.”
Harsh but fair? Or harsh but unfair considering nobody’s kicked a ball yet? I’m not sure who else Conte is supposed to play in the absence of Bentancur and Hojbjerg and I have no idea why you think this should be a walk in the park for Spurs, even without their injuries or suspensions. I think they could get battered but suspect Fraser Forster might have a big game in goal for them tonight tonight. Anyway, time will tell …
Elsewhere in the Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain are hosting Bayern Munich in the French capital and have handed a start to 16-year-old defensive midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery in what could be a titanic battle. It’s the youngster’s 12th appearancoe of the season but his first time in a Champions League starting line-up. Daniel Harris has the latest …
Those teams: Stefano Pioli names an unchanged side from the one that beat Torino by the only of the game on Friday night, while Antonio Conte makes five changes to the side that got walloped at Leicester the next day.
While Sarr and Skipp come into midfield in two enforced changes, Clement Lenglet, Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero come into the defence. Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies are dropped, while Deadline Day signing Pedro Porro also makes way for Cristian Romero after an underwhelming debut.
AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur line-ups
AC Milan: Tatarusanu, Kalulu,Kjaer, Thiaw, Hernandez, Tonali, Krunic, Saelemaekers, Diaz, Giroud, Leao.
Subs: Mirante, Nava, Calabria, Ballo, Rebic, Origi, Messias, Pobega, Gabbia, De Ketelaere
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster, Royal, Dier, Romero, Lenglet, Skipp, Sarr, Perisic, Kulusevski, Son, Kane.
Subs: Austin, Whiteman, Sanchez, Richarlison, Danjuma, Porro, Tanganga, Moura, Davies, Devine.
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 14, 2023
Forza ragazzi! 👊#ACMTOT #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/D9Dwx8aMyi
Your Spurs team in the #UCL tonight 👊 pic.twitter.com/Hwt4aCNiyW
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 14, 2023
Tottenham midfield news: The teams are in and in the absence of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, it looks like Antonio Conte will be starting Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr, newither of whom have ever started a Champions League game, in the heart of the Spurs midfield, with Eric Dier remaining in the back three, sandwiched between Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet.
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And over to you Stefano Pioli ...
“Playing in the Champions League gives a lot of energy, it gives a lot of motivation and a great desire to play this match,” said the Milan manager. “It’s a very important round, it’s a round that will be decided over two games, but we know that starting the first one well would be a big step forward.”
On his team’s recent run of poor form: “It is inevitable that we have suffered a lot from the negative results, the victory against Torino has lifted our morale. Beyond the victory against Torino when the Champions League arrives, it’s the Champions League. It doesn’t matter how you get there, who gets there feeling better, who gets there worse.
“If we stay at these levels it means that we are strong and Tottenham are strong, so we have to try to do better starting tomorrow night. First of all I hope to change the results compared to previous experiences with English teams. We will find intensity, rhythm, physicality, therefore many duels, including physical ones.”
Antonio Conte's pre-match thoughts
“If you are aiming for something important you need to have stability,” said the Tottenham Hotspur in his pre-match press conference. “You can’t have these up-and-downs. I’m focusing on this. It’s not as easy here to be focused on every game. I want to change this.
“We lack consistency this season. I always talk about it with my players. It’s difficult to remain focused on every game. Playing under pressure all the time is good for some players and not for others. We are working on it. We want to make our players more resilient, but there are factors beyond our control like injuries to important players.”
Tonight's match officials
Referee: Sandro Scharer
Assistant referees: Stephane De Almeida and Bekim Zogaj
Fourth official: Lukas Fahndrich
VAR: Marco Fritz
David Hytner: As Antonio Conte endures all manner of agonies – starting with his own health and taking in that of his Tottenham team, particularly the midfield, which is in crisis before Tuesday night’s Champions League last-16, first leg against Milan – he can console himself with one thought. His opposite number, Stefano Pioli, may well have it even worse. Read on …
Early AC Milan team news
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan, full-back Alessandro Florenzi, central defender Fikayo Tomori and midfielder Ismail Bennacer make up the Italian side’s current contingent of the lame and halt but Tomori and Bennacer could feature this evening.
Anyone hoping to see the evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic playing for Milan will be disappointed, as the Swedish striker was not included in the Champions League squad the club submitted to Uefa. Chelsea loanee Tiémoué Bakayoko (remember him?) was also left out of their 25.
Early Tottenham Hotspur team news
Tottenham’s preparations for this game suffered a weekend hammer-blow when Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a season-ending ACL injury. The Uruguayan midfielder has been one of Tottenham’s best performers this season and his absence will be keenly felt tonight, not least because his most likely replacements Yves Bissouma and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg are also unavailable.
Bissouma is currently sidelined with a foot injury, while Hojbjerg must sit this one out on the Naughty Step following an accumulation of yellow cards. Eric Dier, Pape Sarr or Oliver Skipp could deputise. Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and winger Ryan Sessegnon are also out with injuries.
Champions League: AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur
Old Big Cup is back! And tonight in the San Siro, AC Milan host Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of what promises to be a fascinating encounter. In decent form but travelling to Italy on the back of a worryingly emphatic defeat at the hands of Leicester City, Antonio Conte’s men will be hosted by an AC Milan team that beat Torino on Friday, their first win in eight games in all competitions. It is a run that included three consecutive league defeats, as well as an exit from the Coppa Italia and defeat in the Italian Super Cup.
Stefano Pioli’s side currently sit fifth in the Serie A table, a scarcely credible 18 points behind runaway leaders Napoli. Tottenham occupy the same position in the Premier League and sit 12 points their old friends Arsenal in first. Kick-off at the San Siro is at 8pm (GMT) but we’ll have plenty of team news and build-up in the meantime.
