AC Milan made it back to back 0-0 draws in the Champions League group stages as they played out a stalemate with Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
Both sides had big chances in both halves to win the game, with Olivier Giroud perhaps having Milan’s best opportunity in the first half when he hooked a shot over from deep inside the box having been played onside.
In the second half as the game became stretched Samuel Chukwueze could have been the difference maker with two glorious opportunities, but in the end the teams had to settle for a draw.
It is another point and another clean sheet for the Rossoneri, who now sit third in the group with two points, two behind leaders Newcastle United and one behind PSG who they play away and home in the next two games.
Stefano Pioli made three changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Lazio 2-0 on Saturday, with Malick Thiaw coming in for Simon Kjaer while Yunus Musah and Tommaso Pobega took Yacine Adli and Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s places.
Milan’s first opening of the game came inside four minutes as some smart work in midfield by Tijjani Reijnders saw him spin to beat the Dortmund press and find Pobega’s run in behind, but the veteran Hummels did well to recover and block the shot.
The home side got their first sniff not long after when a low cross into the box was cleared by Thiaw but straight to Malen, whose reaction effort glanced off his own man and went wide of the far post with Mike Maignan untroubled.
In the first 15 minutes it felt as though Milan were playing with the handbrake on, hoping for Dortmund to commit bodies forward and get swept up in the atmosphere, thus leaving spaces to exploit.
Thiaw had a half-chance just after the quarter-hour mark when a corner that had been won and taken by Christian Pulisic met his head around the penalty spot, though he looped the effort onto the roof of the net.
There were a three yellow cards before the 30-minute mark, the first two coming from holding back a man who had escaped. The first went to Schlotterbeck as he grabbed Leao after he spun his man, then Reijnders got one for grabbing Brandt and Emre Can went through the back of Giroud for the third.
Malen continued to look like Dortmund’s biggest threat, and Maignan was happy to see a low drive across goal from 20 yards out whistle past the far post that had him scrambling.
Maignan was called into action when Hummels got past Calabria’s attempt at a tackle and Füllkrug’s low shot was just about parried away. Moments later, a Calabria foul gave Reus a good shooting chance from a free-kick but he curled it over and wide.
The chances continued to be one-way traffic, and Brandt produced an impressive chest-and-overhead-kick from Can’s cross in the 35th minute, though it did end up going over.
Up at the other end, Giroud really should have made it 1-0 when a corner was cleared to the edge of the box and was sent back into a dangerous area where the Frenchman – who was in space but played well onside – hooked his shot over.
The Bundesliga side ended the half stronger, with Reus having space to shoot on the left side of the box but scuffing his effort slightly, then Bensebaini’s fierce half-volley was palmed away by Maignan at the near post. From the resulting corner, a flick-on was almost bundled in by Reus.
The final chance went to Milan though, as a link-up between Leao, Theo and Pobega saw the latter find the former who surged into the box, hopping a challenge, and seeing his drilled cross whizz in front of Giroud. The ball came back to Theo 20 yards out, who then fired wide.
Milan started the second half brightly, with Theo and Leao combining well down the left side resulting in the Portuguese winger having a cross diverted behind. A corner resulted, which Pobega flicked over the bar.
The Rossoneri had a very good opportunity to make it 1-0 from a move that Pobega’s run down the left started. His cut-back towards Giroud went through to the far post, and Leao fired it in Pulisic who turned with his back to goal and hit it straight at Kobel when his fellow wingman could have had a return pass.
Not long before the hour mark, Pioli elected to make a change as Pobega was withdrawn from the midfield in place of Yacine Adli.
With the game meandering towards a 0-0 draw that did little for neither team, the Milan boss made two more changes. Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor injected some pace into the attack, with Pulisic and Giroud making way.
As substitute winger Bynoe-Gittens cut inside and blasted a shot over the bar then Chukwueze blocked a shot from Can, it looked like being a hairy last 15 minutes for Pioli’s men.
A smart (or well improvised) free-kick routine saw Leao stand up a cross to the far post that Theo met with a bullet header having arrived late, yet he couldn’t direct the attempt on target.
Chukwueze had his first sight at goal inside the final five minutes after Adli found him in stride down the right flank with a lovely pass, and the Nigerian curled his effort narrowly wide of the far post.
Another huge opportunity came a minute later when a free-flowing move saw Chukwueze put through on goal by Leao, yet Kobel stood up well to saw a weak low shot as he was falling over, then Reijnders sent a follow-up shot just wide from the edge of the box.
The teams continued to trade chances, and it was Nmecha’s chance to miss the target from a good shooting position as the seconds ticked away.
