Tottenham will be Milan’s next opponent in the Champions League and it will be a battle that actually has more familiarity about it then there might seem.
Calciomercato.com write how it will be another instalment of the battle between Stefano Pioli and Antonio Conte previously seen in the Derby della Madonnina clashes before the latter decided to leave Inter.
It will not be the first meeting between Spurs and Milan though, and the London club are in fact unbeaten across the four previous games, which includes the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1971-72 and the round of 16 of the Champions League in 2010-11, having won the first leg in both by one goal and holding on.
Spurs won their group in dramatic fashion in the final game, as at one point they were bottom while trailing to Marseille but they came back and won, going through with Eintracht Frankfurt. In big league games they have struggled, with a draw against Chelsea followed by defeats against Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle and lastly Liverpool.
The star power Spurs have is known, such as Heung-Min Son who scored 5 goals in just two games (a hat-trick at Leicester and brace at Eintracht) but has gone quieter having suffered a fractured eye socket. New signing Richarlison bagged a brace against Marseille on his debut in the Champions League, but has also drifted out of the spotlight.
Conte will bank on the players to scare Milan being players who know Serie A well. Rodrigo Bentancur is establishing himself as a top level midfielder, while his ex-Juventus team-mate Dejan Kulusevski returned after a muscle problem and immediately showed why the coach considers him fundamental part of the project. Cristian Romero – formerly of Atalanta – is also in their ranks.
Finally, attention must be paid to Ivan Perisic who was a real thorn in the side for the defence of Milan during the derby clashes against Inter. Then of course there is the small matter of keeping Harry Kane quiet.
I think AC Milan have done well to draw Tottenham instead of super heavyweights like Man City or Real Madrid. Conte may know us well, but the converse is that we know him and some of his players just as well. If we have all our best players, notably, Leao, Theo, Benacer, Tonali, Magnian, Tomori, Kalulu, and Giroud, available, we should be able to make a good fist of the tie. As an aside, Milanista should note that it took Tottenham 3 years (2016-19) to build their new, state-of-the-art stadium (which sits on the site of their old stadium) in London. Why then is it likely to take AC Milan at least 7 years to build theirs. If the problem is Italian bureaucracy, then reform the bureaucracy. The city of Milan is Italy’s industrial and financial capital – one of Europe’s leading cities. How can its Rossoneri compete effectively on the European stage when they’re logistically impeded in such a huge way. The new cathedral, whether it be situated at the sacred San Siro site or elsewhere, needs to be built ASAP.
just 30% winning. Far better then milan