Antonio Conte’s struggling Tottenham Hotspur FC produced an all-too-familiar display tonight on their travels to Italy as the UEFA Champions League returned with the opening fixtures of the round of 16, with Spurs unable to secure critical points on the road against holding Serie A champions AC Milan.
Milan take a 1-0 advantage over Spurs into the second leg 🔴 pic.twitter.com/pLjOZaNUod
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 14, 2023
Spurs got off to the worst possible start on the night in Lombardy after Milan took an early 1-0 lead in the 7th minute after Spanish forward Brahim Díaz bundled home from point-blank range despite an initial brilliant double-save by stand-in shot-stopper Fraser Forster as Antonio Conte’s men were already up against it.
The Premier League outfit had begun to work themselves into the match halfway through the opening forty-five minutes before ultimately wrestling the lion’s share of the ball (53%) away from their Serie A opponents by half-time. But Harry Kane and company struggled to create any chance of note on the back of the four shots they managed to muster, none of which carried high xG (for a total 0.22) as a sign that Spurs were still struggling to tick in the final third despite the preferred front-three being deployed at the San Siro.
It was very much a similar storyboard as the second half plodded along as both sides almost seemed happy for proceedings to end 1-0, which certainly was a scoreline that Spurs could reverse in the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in two weeks’ time. And for all their dominance in midfield and ability to win midfield duels through Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp, the north London outfit remained unable to really give a good account of themselves further forward while lacking real attacking intent in the process.
AC Milan (1.88) 1-0 (0.55) Tottenham
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) February 14, 2023
South Korean star Son Heung-min still looked like a shadow of his former self while Tottenham looked in need of a change to freshen things in the attack, with Richarlison finally coming off the bench in the 70th minute and replacing Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski while Conte remained against the idea of removing Son despite his struggles despite Arnaut Danjuma ready on the bench.
Conte finally did pull the trigger on that change in the 81st minute and Spurs had once again found energy late on in the half to try to work their onto the scoresheet to secure a late equalizer, but that vital goal would not come as Tottenham would have to contend with the notion of fighting back in the second leg in north London if they had any ambition of making an unexpectedly deep run in the competition.
AC Milan Player Ratings
- GK: Ciprian Tătăruşanu – 7
- RCB: Pierre Kalulu – 7
- CB: Simon Kjær – 6.5
- LCB: Malick Thiaw – 7
- RWB: Alexis Saelemaekers – 6.5
- LWB: Theo Hernández – 7.5
- CM: Rade Krunić – 6.5
- CM: Sandro Tonali – 7
- RAM: Brahim Díaz – 7.5
- LAM: Rafael Leão – 8
- CF: Olivier Giroud – 7
- Sub: Junior Messias – 6
- Sub: Charles De Ketelaere – 6
- Sub: Tommaso Pobega – 6
- Sub: Ante Rebić- N/A
Tottenham Player Ratings
- GK: Fraser Forster – 7
- RCB: Cristian Romero – 6
- CB: Eric Dier – 6.5
- LCB: Clément Lenglet – 6.5
- RWB: Emerson Royal – 6.5
- LWB: Ivan Perišić – 7
- CM: Oliver Skipp – 7
- CM: Pape Matar Sarr – 7.5
- RAM: Dejan Kulusevski – 6
- LAM: Son Heung-min – 6
- CF: Harry Kane – 6.5
- Sub: Richarlison – 6
- Sub: Arnaut Danjuma – 6
- Sub: Ben Davies – 6
Expert Takes & Social Media
Tottenham, tonight, face an AC Milan team in crisis. I spoke with two Italian football experts, including @carlogarganese, to get to the bottom of the Serie A champions’ collapse.
For @standardsport #ACMilan #Spurs #ACMTOT pic.twitter.com/XLzf4gke0a
— Dom Smith (@MrDomSmith) February 14, 2023
🗣️ @Ibra_official confident ahead of #ACMTOT: “We can do well”
🗣️ Zlatan carica i compagni: “Col Tottenham possiamo far bene”#UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/xTyXdMqRo3
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 14, 2023
“It’s an incredibly hard one to call!”
🎙️ @PatNevin is alongside @Iandennisbbc at the San Siro for a big night of #UCL football
Live commentary of 🔴⚫️#ACMilan v #THFC ⚪️ from 8pm ⤵️#BBCFootball #ACMTOT
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) February 14, 2023
It’s the perfect start for AC Milan.
Fraser Forster pulls off a double save, but is beaten on the third attempt.#ACMTOT | #UCL
🎥 @btsportfootball pic.twitter.com/p71WfCRXa1
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) February 14, 2023
Brahim Diaz is the first player to score a Champions League knockout round goal for AC Milan since Kaka in March 2014.
It’s been a long time coming. 😤
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) February 14, 2023
Oliver Skipp also having a good match so far. Making a number of interceptions and reading the game well.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) February 14, 2023
How many more times does Kjaer need to foul Kane before he gets a booking
— The Spurs Web (@thespursweb) February 14, 2023
I thought Spurs were ok after conceding that awful opener and Skipp and Sarr have both been pretty good given their lack of experience. But my #analysis is that it would have been better if one of those freekicks had gone in, they don’t really look like scoring from open play.
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) February 14, 2023
Not the worst half from Tottenham. Richarlison & Danjuma will be keen to get on here. Goals in this game. Very positive half from Sarr. #THFC
— Michael Bridge (@MichaelBridge_) February 14, 2023
Pape Sarr has been quite impressive for Tottenham and he’s showing why Milan have always had a liking for him.
— Get Italian Football News (@_GIFN) February 14, 2023
I’d say this has been AC Milan’s best defensive display since the season restarted after the World Cup, giving the opposition.
1-0 at the San Siro, let’s see what the second half has to offer! #ACMTOT
— Cam (@ProxyAnalytics) February 14, 2023
We are playing meh to be honest
— Harry C 🎙 (@HazSpur92) February 14, 2023
It is amazing, given everything, how few minutes Richarlison has played in Son’s position this season.
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) February 14, 2023
#THFC could easily get something here if they move the ball quicker in final third.
— Tom McDermott (@MrTomMcDermott) February 14, 2023
Frustrating that Conte is so reluctant to take off Son. Danjuma was in the CL team of the season last year. Surely worth a run out in the circumstances
— Dan Kilpatrick (@Dan_KP) February 14, 2023
Just look at the gravity Leão has – five Spurs defenders in his area out wide, three directly defending him, leaving it man-for-man in the box and leading to a good headed chance off his cross. Containing him means conceding elsewhere.
— Scouted Football (@scoutedftbl) February 14, 2023
Pape Matar Sarr’s game by numbers vs. Milan:
83% pass accuracy
76 touches
7 ground duels won
5/6 long balls completed
5 tackles won
2 aerial duels won
1 interception
1 key passExcellent Champions League debut. 👏 pic.twitter.com/RM85V9snBD
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 14, 2023
Really need to find a place in the XI for Richarlison. He’s got the ball-grabbing attitude the rest of the team often lacks.
— Tim Spiers (@TimSpiers) February 14, 2023
When you consider how poor & devoid of confidence they’ve been in 2023, that was a big step forward for Milan…
Not spectacular, but much better defensively, excellent work-rate and belief slowly returning – Pioli got a lot right v Conte,but two missed chances may prove costly
— Adam Summerton (@adamsummerton) February 14, 2023
Spurs better than expected overall, much better than on Saturday and very much still in the tie. On the other hand, if you’re being critical, they lost to a team they are clearly better than. And if they’d play’d just a bit better in both boxes they definitely could have won…
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) February 14, 2023
