AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali believes that he and his team-mates will take ‘something extra’ from such a memorable Champions League night.
Milan secured a memorable win under the lights of San Siro as they emerged 1-0 victors in the first leg of their round of 16 clash with Spurs as the only goal of the game came inside the first ten minutes though Brahim Diaz.
The Spaniard converted with a diving header denying Fraser Forster an incredible goal-line save to deny him a first time. The victory at home and another clean sheet makes it a very memorable evening for the nearly 80,000 fans present, who have witnessed a home UCL knockout win for the first time since 2013-14.
Tonali spoke to both Mediaset and Sky Italia after the win against Spurs to try and digest a first UCL knockout stage win at home in almost a decade, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“Winning is always good, especially in such a delicate moment. We are happy with this. Winning a match like this in the Champions League gives you something extra. We approached well and gave everything,” he said.
On Tottenham: “We were ready for a lot of their plays. We immediately got into the game and did what we had prepared in training. We knew their plays.”
On the new formation: “Conceding goals hurts, so we all do everything we can to not concede a goal. Even today we gave everything. Not conceding is good for us, tonight we didn’t want to concede.”
How are you after Romero’s tackle? “The ankle already bandaged before the ankle. I’m fine, a blow like many others in a football match”.
Did you dream of this quarter-final like this? “This was the intensity and level thought. Then on a technical level we could have made mistakes, but the intensity and our values had to be put on the pitch. We all gave 100% and we’re happy, even if we could have done something more at the end.”
Do you have more regrets for how the last month went? “Surely the points would have been different. The past is the past, we just have to look forward. We are Milan, we look forward starting from Monza.”
On the three-man defence: “I’m not talking about today, but when a shot can break you, being so fragile, it gives you more security. It is important to know not to concede a goal and concede fewer shots. They are different movements, knowing that you always have a man in defence helps you to come forward under pressure, it gives you that extra security.”
On how they dealt with Kane: “He was the first problem in Tottenham’s build-up. The important thing was to shield him and then go out on all the others.”
That Romero’s reckless tackle should’ve been a red. Or at the very least, got checked by the var.
agreed. that tackle was nasty.
For sure. For sure. The ref did favor Spurs too much anyway. The Ballerina-Kane got waaaay too many freekicks for his jumps and dives.