AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali believes that the victory against Spurs was the culmination of a journey that the squad have been on together in recent years.
It will no doubt be branded the ‘Italian Job’ by the English press as Milan dug deep to protect the one goal lead that they brought from the first leg win at San Siro, but ultimately it was the Rossoneri who had the better chances in the second leg too as they failed to kill the game off several times.
Brahim Diaz and Tonali wasted chances in the box, Divock Origi hit the post late on and Cristian Romero also saw red in a dramatic finale, but the end result was zero goals and therefore Milan passing into the final eight on aggregate.
Tonali was interviewed by Sky after the game and reflected on what was a gruelling 96+ minutes of action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but an ultimately rewarding one, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“I think it’s the result of the journey we’ve all done together. We played for Milan. It was a goal, now we have to play while dreaming,” he said.
“We mustn’t play without hunger, it would be the mistake we made in January. We must fight for every ball, without setting goals and giving our best. We must be good at distinguishing between the league and the Champions League and give our best They are different but complicated matches.”
Tonali also spoke to Prime Video as part of his post-match commitments.
Giroud said that this qualification means a lot. What is it for you?
“A particular emotion. We put everything on the field, we wanted to qualify at all costs. We worked a lot, the emotion that a match like this can give us is incredible.”
How much does it mean for you to bring Milan back to the quarter-finals of the Champions League?
“A lot, but I think it’s the same for everyone. We know what we’re doing, a path with many difficulties and a thousand problems but also a thousand reactions from Milan, which is the important thing.
“In football you can win and you can lose but in the end our reactions during this journey, especially this year, are those of a great team. A deserved qualification and I think it’s a lot to feel for everyone, not just for Giroud (he smiles).”
