AC Milan got the job done in front of their own fans at San Siro last night, beating Girona to climb into the top eight in the Champions League standings.
Rafael Leao got the only goal of the night 37 minutes in but that doesn’t tell the whole story as there were a flurry of chances for both sides. It was far from Milan’s best performance of the season, but it was good enough to take a big step towards last-16 qualification.
Today’s front pages
After the game, Sergio Conceicao once again stressed the importance of substance over style given the present moment, i.e. results being worth more than performances. The Italian media this morning seem to agree with his sentiment.
La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Europe here we are. Champions League: Inter and Milan win, last 16 one step away. Leao scores a big goal, Girona beaten. Walker arrives today, Gimenez is ready (and scores 2 goals against Bayern).”
Corriere dello Sport: “There’s room for three. Inter and Milan in the top eight like Gasperini. Champions League, with one round to go in the big group, three Italian clubs in the top eight. Leao-goal. Walker like Ibra.”
Tuttosport: “In the G8 with Leao. Fifth win in a row in the Champions League: in Zagreb in a week to confirm themselves among the top 8. Protests against the club remain.”
i can clearly se he has improved under sergio he now has scored 3 ucl goals on a row his best ucl campain in his career
That’s one part of it, he even went down in a sliding tackle and won it as well.
Dynamo won’t be easy. The game is in Zagreb and they actually might be able to squeeze a place in the top 24 if they win and some of Benfica, PSG, Stuttgart and Sporting lose, so they’ll probably come motivated and swinging for the fences and encouraged by raging fans.
Girona also played for the win. They had some chances.
For Milan luckily even draw can be beneficial. Because Atalanta must win in Barcelona, and Monaco in Inter to overtake Milan.
Yeah even though we won 3-1 last time its not really an easy place to play. I do recall last time we played there one of their long stands was not in function as part of it had nearly collapsed, any idea if it has been repaired in the meantime as that would mean a lot more supporters in the stands to back them up ?