A great night Milan. The Rossoneri manage to beat the Tottenham with a proof of pride and character, shifting the qualification bag in their favour, albeit slightly. It wasn't a glittering victory, one of those destined to remain in the annals for fun and entertainment, certainly though Pioli he got the answers he was looking for and not just for the result. The second 1-0 in a row after the one against Torino is an excellent sign of life, especially since they were facing a team with very important values, even if in difficulty: if last Friday's one had seemed like a rather bland "soup" , yesterday the Devil served a much more substantial dish, which could signal the end of the crisis.
Milan – Tottenham 1-0, a flash from Diaz annihilates Conte's English
Both Pioli is Tale they were forced to make do, one deprived again of Bennacer and Tomori (tribune for both), the other of the midfield duo Bentancur-Hojbjerg. The Rossoneri coach thus chose to rely on the trio Kalulu-Kjaer-Thiaw, with the Dane marking Kane: a courageous choice, in the light of Simon's latest performances, but rewarded by an excellent performance, by him and by his mates. Also because the match immediately went downhill, given that Milan took the lead after just 7' with Diaz, quick in the winning tap-in after Forster had saved both his and Hernandez's shots. The lightning 1-0 allowed Milan to play a defensive game, complicating life for a Tottenham team who hoped to have some space to unleash the various Sons, Kane and Kulusevski and who instead found themselves slamming into the erected wall from Pioli, without ever finding the breaking point. Indeed, the best chances to score came from the Rossoneri, who came close to 2-0 in the second half through De Ketelaere and Thiaw: it would have been a big step towards the quarter-finals, but this way we can already face the second leg with more conviction . On balance it can be said that Milan deserved the victory, if only for the greater number of chances created, albeit in a very balanced match. The numbers tell of an absolute parity in ball possession (50 and 50) and in overall shots, both towards goal (4-3 for the Rossoneri) and away (4-4), which suggests a truly interesting comeback, with the Devil who would go through even in the event of a draw and a Tottenham who would only need one goal difference to go into extra time.
Pioli: "It's only the first stage, but the performance gives us morale"
“It was a difficult match, we played the match we had to play, with determination and a lot of teamwork – Pioli's satisfied analysis -. I saw the work done on the field during the week, the boys moved with great generosity and compactness, it was a hard-fought match with many positive aspects. We could have scored more goals with De Ketelaere and Thiaw, but they also put us in trouble, especially from set pieces. However, this is only the first stage, the second will be even more difficult, but it is a performance that will give us morale, even if we must continue to be an energetic team. We have had a difficult month, we are trying to overcome these difficulties, I am always convinced that I am coaching a special group".
Conte: "Match decided by an episode, but now Milan are favourites"
“It was an intense match, played on an equal footing and with great balance – thought Conte -. Unfortunately we made the mistake of conceding after five minutes: in that case we could have done much, much better. At that point they were more wait-and-see and we had difficulty finding space, but the race was balanced, decided by an episode. But this was only the first round, they had injured players and so did we. Our team will be injured… Credit to Milan, now they'll have an advantage. My future? Now I want to live only in the present, many things have happened this year. I'm Italian and, as a former coach, Italy will always be in my heart, there will never be a problem coming back".
