Sarr and Skipp step up
An awful lot can change in the space of a week in the world of football. Fresh from beating Man City 1-0 with a fully-fit squad, Antonio Conte's Tottenham team have been hit by a host of injuries to key players including the likes of Hugo Lloris and Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguayan's absence has left Tottenham short in midfield for the remainder of the campaign, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's one-match suspension compounding Conte's misery when it came to naming an XI to face AC Milan in their Champions League Round of 16 clash. As expected, inexperienced duo Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr were given the nod in midfield as the head coach elected against pushing Eric Dier forward from his centre-back role due to a lack of time since Saturday's 4-1 humbling at Leicester City.
Tottenham's current shortage in midfield was then highlighted by Alfie Devine, with only two senior appearances to his name, being the only recognised central midfielder on the bench. Not exactly the way Conte would have wanted to go into such an important European tie, there was literally nothing he could do following the spate of injuries and Hojbjerg's suspension.
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Amid concerns over Sarr and Skipp due to their lack of experience in Europe's top competition, the pair didn't look overawed by the occasion. Both recycling the ball well and making full use of it, it was clear to see the Senegal international demanding possession and then playing some smart passes as he looked to pick out his teammates further upfield.
Skipp also impressed on his return to the XI after such a frustrating season to date, putting in some excellent challenges and making life really difficult for the hosts. The duo really rose to the occasion to make their case to Conte for the weeks ahead.
Deafening reception
It's fair to say that AC Milan aren't exactly fond of Conte going on the reaction of their fans ahead of kick-off. Booed by those in the stadium after conducting his pre-match interview at the side of the pitch about 45 minutes before the game got underway, the noise inside the stadium rose to unprecedented levels when the former Inter Milan head coach's name was read out just before the teams emerged from the tunnel.
Conte wasn't the only one who was met by a volley of boos as Ivan Perisic and Dejan Kulusevski also received the same reaction albeit not as loud as what came Conte's way. Perisic was obviously booed due to his connections with city rivals Inter, with Kulusevski's time at Juventus a sore point for the home faithful.
As bad as the Tottenham duo got it, it was not a patch on what their head coach faced.
Emerson's new role
Tottenham's lack of experience in the midfield worried quite a number of people going into such a big contest. They needn't have worried though with Sarr and Skipp performing incredibly well and not looking out of place at all.
Sarr was the standout of the two but Skipp did grow into the match and got better and better as the match wore on. They did have a helping in midfield at times with Emerson Royal taking on a new role in Conte's team.
Rather than sticking out wide and keeping close to the touchline, the Brazilian played a lot more inside than he usually does and it did appear that Spurs had a midfield three on occasions. A tactic to help out the young duo, Emerson also impressed again with some good play down to right to build on his excellent showing in the recent win over Man City.
Romero woe
Sitting out Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Leicester City following his dismissal in their previous Premier League clash against Man City, Cristian Romero returned to the Tottenham backline at the San Siro. His reintroduction to the side was certainly needed after their defensive struggles at the King Power Stadium but the World Cup winner himself didn't have the best of nights in Milan.
Losing out in an aerial challenge to Theo Hernandez in the seventh minute which led to Brahim Diaz heading home the opener, Romero once again struggled against the Frenchman midway through the first half but thankfully the left-back breezing beyond him did not lead to anything.
His night was to get even worse shortly after the break as he received a yellow card for a wild challenge on Sandro Tonali, something which Cristian Stellini admitted ahead of the Leicester game was an area they needed to work on with the player.
Dier disaster
Two of the Tottenham team were walking the disciplinary tightrope heading into the European showdown against AC Milan. Dier and Clement Lenglet were the two in question after picking up two yellow cards in Spurs' first six games of the competition.
Knowing that one more yellow card would see them sit out the return leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in three weeks' time, the second half saw the England centre-back see yellow after a foul on Olivier Giroud. His absence now leaves Conte with a decision to make in the backline heading into the game in N17 at the start of March.
Dier did have a chance to atone for his caution late in the contest but he got his header all wrong from Perisic's corner when he was unmarked. His reaction said it all as he had his head in his hands.
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