Tottenham are very much in with a shout of a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals despite a 1-0 defeat against AC Milan in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash. Falling behind to Brahim Diaz's seventh-minute opener after the attacker had reacted quickest after seeing Fraser Forster making a fine save with his initial effort, Spurs saw plenty of the ball after that but did nothing of note to really trouble the hosts.
Eric Dier perhaps had Tottenham's best chance on the night but he got his header from Ivan Perisic's corner all wrong. The centre-back, who will miss the return leg through suspension after seeing yellow at the San Siro, knew it was a great opportunity and his reaction said it all as he put his head in his hands.
Tottenham just needed more on the night, especially in attack as Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min struggled to have a real impact on proceedings. They weren't the only Spurs stars to be far from their best, though, with Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp undoubtedly the team's two standout players on a huge night for both.
READ MORE: The moment Antonio Conte knew he could trust Pape Matar Sarr in his Tottenham team vs AC Milan
But how did the Italian media rate the Tottenham players across the 90 minutes at the San Siro? football.london takes a look at the player ratings from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tuttosport and Corriere dello Sport.
La Gazzetta dello Sport
Not one Tottenham player received a mark over seven in La Gazzetta dello Sport's ratings on Tuesday evening. Despite taking their opportunities in midfield, Sarr was given 5.5 for his display and Skipp slightly less at 5.
Tottenham goalkeeper Forster came out on top with a rating of 6.5, although he didn't exactly have many saves to make with the hosts not peppering his goal. Cristian Romero received the lowest Tottenham rating after coming in at 4.5.
The World Cup winner really struggled against AC Milan and had a role to play in the only goal after Theo Hernandez got the better of him prior to Diaz's strike. Romero also received a yellow card following a wild challenge on Sandro Tonali early in the second half.
Kulusevski came out with a mark of five and the Italian publication labelled his performance as "disappointing" given the talent at his disposal.
In terms of Milan, Malick Thiaw and Hernandez received the top marks with scores of 7.5 for their performance on the night.
Tottenham ratings: Forster 6.5; Romero 4.5, Dier 5.5, Lenglet 5.5; Emerson. 5.5, Sarr 5.5, Skipp 5. Perisic 5.5; Kulusevski 5, Son 5 Kane 6; Richarlison 5.5
Tuttosport
It was much of the same in Tuttosport, although this time Forster, Emerson Royal and Sarr, who was described as having "better dynamism" than Skipp. shared the top mark of 6. Kulusevski again wasn't given the most glowing of reports as he received a mark of 4.5 following his struggles down the right flank.
Not enjoying the best of times at Juventus prior to his switch to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January 2022, Tuttosport referenced his woes in Turin and described his showing as "inconclusive" as Thiaw cancelled him.
They wrote: "He returns to Italy and sees the player from Juventus again: inconclusive. Thiaw cancels him."
AC Milan's Simon Kjaer received the top score overall as he was handed a 7.5 for the job he did on Harry Kane in the Spurs final third.
Tottenham ratings: Forster 6; Romero 5, Dier 5.5, Lenglet 5.5; Emerson 6, Skipp 5.5, Sarr 6, Perisic 5; Kulusevski 4.5, Son 5, Kane 5
Corriere dello Sport
Romero may not want to look at Corriere dello Sport's player ratings after scoring 4 for his performance at the San Siro. They described his aerial challenge with Hernandez as "soft" leading up to Diaz's strike and then also pointed out that he again struggled against the French left-back later in the first half.
The newspaper also believe he was a very lucky boy to stay on the field for his challenge on Tonali as "the referee and VAR saved him from expulsion".
Kane was Tottenham's top scorer on the night in their player ratings on 6.5, with Forster, Emerson and Sarr not far behind at all with marks of six. Milan's top player rating was given to Thiaw as he received 7 for his strong showing at the back.
Tottenham ratings: Forster 6; Romero 4, Dier 5.5, Lenglet 5.5; Emerson 6, Skipp 5. Sarr 6, Perisic 5.5; Kulusevski 5, Son 5.5, Kane 6.5; Richarlison 5.5
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