Although AC Milan beat Newcastle by two goals to one, they did not progress into the final 16 of the Champions League, due to the result between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Stefano Pioli’s side came from behind to be victorious at St James’ Park and displayed an excellent away performance so to speak, soaking up pressure, and being clinical when it mattered.
There are a few key stats from the game to dig into, so let’s take a look.
Overall stats
In both halves, Milan struggled for possession. However, this was not something to worry about, as Newcastle failed to make the most of their possession on several occasions.
This is pretty much the exact opposite of the away fixture against Atalanta, where Milan had more possession than La Dea, yet failed to make the most of it. This suggests that Pioli learned from the game, and quickly implemented changes for the sake of the side, and his job.
Another thing to note is Milan’s lack of prolificacy. The side created five big chances, however, only had two shots on target, both of which resulted in goals. This leads to the question, why did Milan fail to convert more of their big chances into goals?
Nearing ‘Lebron James of soccer’ territory
First of all, it’s worth watching the video if you don’t understand the reference before shouting at us in the comments.
On Wednesday evening, Christian Pulisic scored his first Champions League goal for AC Milan and his first goal in the competition since March 2022, when he scored in back-to-back games against Lille. It’s his eighth goal in the competition, meaning he is now only behind Javier Hernandez and Dwight Yorke.
It’s also his sixth goal for AC Milan. Interestingly, five of his six goals for the club have come when he has started on the right wing, meaning that perhaps Pioli’s best front-three in terms of goals sees him feature on the right, instead of Samuel Chukwueze.
A Europa League first
Wednesday’s elimination is not the end of Milan’s European journey, as for the first time in their history, they will enter the Europa League, due to finishing third in their group.
The system has been in place since the 1999-00 season, however, in the previous three times they have exited the Champions League in the group stages, this is only the first time they will enter UEFA’s second-tier competition
Tomori the rock
Fikayo Tomori was as close to his best as we’ve seen all season, the Englishman was excellent against Newcastle United. His performance will be headlined by his goalline block to deny Miguel Almiron, but that was just the topping of an exceptional performance.
With Gareth Southgate in attendance at St James’ Park, the question has to be posed, will he take more interest in Milan’s defensive rock, and could he potentially earn a starting shirt for the Three Lions at EURO 2024.
