THE ROSSONERI are out of the champions league. Despite totally outplaying Spurs at White Hart Lane, and having the ball cleared off the line by William Gallas, Milan failed to win on the night, and Spurs managed to park the bus in the closing stages to secure the win – sadly knocking the Rossoneri out despite a vintage performance from Clarence Seedorf.
The injuries had definitely taken their toll on Allegri’s squad, so in his 4-3-1-2 formation, Abbiati started in goal behind Abate, Nesta Thiago Silva and Jankulovski Whilst Boateng, Seedorf and Flamini formed the midfield 3. In attack, Robinho returned to the side, along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Alexandre Pato (who returned after missing the Juve game with the flu)
The match started wih Milan determined to show the game was not over yet. With a fairly attack minded lineup, Milan may have been vulnerable, as Spurs threatened through Van der Vaart just a minute in, though his long range effort sailed wide. The best move early on came as Seedorf (playing the deepest role of the midfield 3) won a tackle and got the ball back before playing in Ibrahimovic with a 30 yard long ball! The Swede took it well, but Dawson did well to knock it out for a corner before Ibra could strike.
Seedorf to captain Milan tonight
Tottenham-AC Milan: The Rossoneri squad
The game was end to end, Milan seemed much more in it than the first leg, but Spurs had started just as well as last time, the game was frantic, but Milan looked like a constant threat early on. Spurs came close to taking the lead after a Peter Crouch knockdown in to the box, but Abbiati did just enough despite taking a hit to the head. The difference between this game and the last game against spurs for Milan was absolutely staggering early on.
Milan were beginning to look like the better side with around quarter of an hour gone, and they began to pressurise Spurs. Ibrahimovic had a free kick from a tight angle around 30 yards out, however, his thumping effort was parried well wide by Heurelho Gomes for a corner. Finally the Rossoneri were beginning to look like themselves!
Spurs were playing a dangerous game, and after some poor communication between Spurs center back William Gallas, and his goalkeeper Heurhelo Gomes, Pato found himself with the ball out wide and Gomes in no man’s land! He just about managed to pull it back for Robinho, but Robinho’s shot was blocked! Nonetheless, it was heading towards the empty net, but William Gallas pulled off a stunning volley to clear it off the line.
Pato was the next to test Heurelho Gomes with around half an hour gone! After yet another interception from Clarence Seedorf, Ibrahimovic managed to play a through ball for Pato, who’d made an intelligent run in to the box to the left. The Brazilian got on the ball and struck it goalwards, but this time Gomes looked assure as he parried it clear.
Abate and Jankulovski’s pressing meant that Spurs’ wingers were forced to track back and minimised their threat, an ingenious decision by Allegri to push them higher up, Abate’s delivery had been excellent, and almost proved fruitful 5 minutes before the break, but as Gomes punched the ball, Boateng’s shot (following Ibrahimovic’s pass) was blocked by Modric as it sailed goalwards! Spurs were getting anxious.
The half ended with Milan on top but the scores remained level. Allegri’s tactics were spot on in the first half and the only thing missing was a Milan goal!
For the opening 10 minutes of the second half, the game remained the same. Spurs did look slightly more dangerous and energetic in the first, but it was still Milan in control, even though Tottenham seemed more likely to do something on the counter than they did in the first. This could partly be attributed to Boateng providing a bit less cover, meaning Lennon was 1 on 1 with Jankulovski much more often, but the game was still in the balance.
After a scramble in the box, Milan almost take the lead, but the spurs defenders and Heurelho Gomes did just enough to force the ball out. Milan still looked dangerous, but still hadn’t scored. At this point, Gareth Bale came off the bench to replace Rafael Van der Vaart for Spurs. Shortly after, Jermaine Jenas joined Bale on the field for Spurs (instead of Pienaar) whilst Allegri brought on Antonini to freshen up the defence (in place of Jankulovski)
Despite being the better side overall in the tie, time was running out, and the Rossoneri had only around 15 minutes left to find the goal. Massimiliano Allegri decided another change was needed, to bring the flow of the game back, so he brought on Alexander Merkel for Boateng. It almost paid dividens instantly! As the youngster played a superb reverse pass for Pato, but Pato’s shot went just wide much to Gomes’ relief as the ‘keeper had no chance of stopping it had it been on target.
With less than 5 minutes left Spurs had parked the bus. Milan had a corner and every single spurs player was behind the ball, frustratingly so. With time running out, Milan needed to get forward, but Spurs’ tactics were almost preventing them. As a last bid to get some energy and freshness in the middle, Allegri brought on Rodney Strasser for Mathieu Flamini (who had been booked) – but Spurs had pretty much shut down Milan’s system just to prevent them scoring at this point, you couldn’t blame them but it was very frustrating.
With only 3 minutes added time left, Milan were trying their hardest, but Spurs were running down the clock. Seedorf won the ball back in his own half, used some skill to beat a player and played in Ibrahimovic with minutes left. As Ibra layed it off, Robinho took aim and fired it goalwards, but one of the countless white shirts keep the ball out and nothing comes from the corner.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Spurs’ frustrating (but understandable) tactics at the end were enough to make time run out, and so Spurs went through winning the tie 1-0 overall thanks to the first leg win at the San Siro. Despite being the better team on the night, Milan couldn’t take advantage, and so, the champions league chase is over for another year.
Best Moment: When Gomes missed the ball (only for Robinho’s deflected effort to be cleared off the line)
Man of the Match: Clarence Seedorf – he was magnificent, he rolled back the years and his performance deserved so much more than to go out after a 0-0 draw
By Hefin Davies, Rossoneri Blog
again DQ out of champions league. . its real shame ibra n robinho stumbled. .dam . .m really pissd off. .
i hoped for a revenge goal atleast on their home!!!!:(
come on milan we support you, we’re there for you, we love you forza milan
Next year we hope for something more hope
And where was Ibra the best player in he world only next to Messi.
It was a superb performance by handicap Milan all played well but were unlucky at goal. What amazed me was the performance of captain Sedorf, he was a true leader all that was missing him was to score to shut up all who criticized him. Hopefully our missing gap will be covered during summer transfers. Now let’s focus on winning the Scudito. @ White Hart Lane – good game was enjoyable to watch, Spurs management and fans were biting off their nails after handicap Milan’s performance tonight. Honestly I don’t want to say Spurs deserved to win but unfortunately… Read more »
I think seedorf played very well, along with Abate (this guy IS ROCK!), Silva, and Nesta. The others are playing good but not great like those four. And also, we dominate all 90 minutes on Spur home but lack of finishing. Maybe next season we will more competitive when we can see Cassano, Emanuelson, and other new guy play in UCL. Forza Milan!!!
binho seriously needs to get his act together when it comes to finishing off chances milan had a great game seedorf played very well if only binho had his shooting boots on, but am not that upset cos we played great just very unlucky today unlike arsenal yesterday who got completely destroyed by barca I mean not even a single shot on goal just barely over 100 passes made and an overall ball possesion of 25%
so next season milan sign a few good players in the summer and pirlo doesnt get injured we can be awsome
Giancarlo is discussing things with Allegri & Galliani, he will be here very soon with his stinking crap
Ibra was nowhere to be found – he is starting to get on my nerves. Pato is so much better and younger. We need new midfielders and 2 new defensman. I hope Kaka comes back – I know some of you don’t want that but if he was playing today, he would tear this Tottenham team apart. Flamini needs to go asap.
My writeup from the other: While I never had delusions of winning the Champions League as we were nowhere close, I certainly expected to move into the quarterfinals. This match was absolutely abysmal on several dimensions. Our defense, as it always has been, was phenomenal. Thiago Silva and Nesta were without question the only reason we didn’t lose worse on aggregate. Now the bad, and there is many. Obviously the front three were terrible. Pato played reasonably well, but he is still being misused. Robinho and Ibrahimovic could have just as easily stayed in Italy as their presence was not… Read more »
superb Milan… Despite we lost the serie no regrets on how we went down… Forza milan… I was crying to see my milan play the way they did today… We completely shut down the so call hotspurs…. Jajajajajaja
I did like how Milan went to white heart lane and played their game! it was terrific! but Spurs did well too from their organized mess of defense…Well done Spurs
Our guys fought well. We were inches away from 2 or 3 goals. Shit happens. However, we’re Milan… before you know it, we’ll have a few more UCL trophies to add to our bunch. I’m only disappointed that we probably won’t get the chance to embarrass them anytime soon since they probably won’t qualify for the UCL next year… I’m really proud of our guys for picking up the pace though. It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t turn Cinderalla’s carriage back into a pumpkin. Anyway, while it’s always nice to win the UCL, we have a scudetto (and Coppa Italia) to… Read more »
I’m proud of our team today. We gave a really good account of ourselves. Robinho desparately needs shooting lessons. This guy is so terrible in front of goal it makes my nerves bad! I believe Ibra said he is the best player in the world next to Messi. Best player my ass!Ibra is nowhere near as good as Super Pippo Inzaghi. Had Inzaghi been playing today instead of Ibra or Robinho we would have made it to the quarter-finals. Ibra and Balotelli are starting to get on my nerves we their self praise comments. Players who are the best prove… Read more »
I am so sad .. we are out again on the second round … but round applause for the team.. this is how a Milan team should play crisp passing and dominance in possession … Man this is the best performance by Seedorf of the season…. I dont like Ibrahimovic’s attitude … and Robinho what else he needs to score .. when he places for Brazil he scores freely and whenever hes playing for a club he looks like a clown .. any decent striker would have finished at least one of the two chances on the night … but… Read more »
@ 84
Thank man, i loved your coment:-D This is talking with the hart, with our red hart. I think we will get a chance to show tham what it means to mess with the DIAVOLI :-D.
Milan played the best game of the season so far, anfortunatly we didn’t score.
To those who don’t know anything else except complaining and analysing like you know it all,i say STOP, If you really love this team than be one of tham.
Milan forever Yeahhhhh
no matter what i love milan ! forza milan
@tcl_00…I agree. Abate was great. He will become a great RB for Milan and for the Azzurri. I’m really pleased with his progress. I also agree with your comment on Ibra…I think his style of play is bad for Pato. We should send him back and get someone else although the market is not that good for strikers under 30. I would prefer to see Torres or Arshavin at Milan.. Eto’o is always a player I like but I highly doubt Inter will let him go especially to Milan. Also Fernando Llorente could be a possible hit at Milan. I… Read more »
I’d say we played well. I liked the way the players were patient, it is a shame we didn’t take our little chances. Robinho should really work on his finishing. Seedorf was umbelieveably good today. Kudos to him. In all… Forza Milan
Milan played beyond my expectation. I never thought dey will play like this. please ibra shld beta go back to barca or if they dont want him then he shld go back to his first team ajax. As for spurs, well congrats but u shld know dat any team dat beats milan will not succeed e.g tell me where deportivo is now? and dis is ur first nd last ucl. just pray uefa shld nt join u with barca bcuz dey will out play u both home and away. as for milan, just focus on d scudetto and dispose ur… Read more »
They’re out but with heads right up to the sky .. the only sad thing about this evening was the result :(. I would name Seedorf as the man of the match because he did every thing out there ( true leader ), obviously this is the last year for him and I truly believe he deserves all our support for every thing he did for Milan over the years. let’s focus on the positive side as from now we can keep our concentration on the local championships and hopefully we’re gonna win them all. Just like the other guys… Read more »
They really showed courage at WHL and i’m not even disapointed. They outplayed Spurs totally. Their performance was really good. I knew CL will be hard for our guys but they need to focus on scudetto now CL will follow. Even tough they didn’t win i stood up and applause to them. Seedorf had a great game he was a real captain and even tough Merkel didn’t get so much time he played well too. I stand with Milan in good or bad. FORZA CAMPIONI!
Guys apart from all and dispite what Ibra’s comments which I disagree with. The lack of a creative playe maker is our main concern which makes Ibra and Pato looks bad although Pato was mote energetic, even if Inzagi was present same thing. Robinho on the other hand runs alot with no brains and not effective infront of the goal. Thats why previously I have mentioned we should swap him for someone like G.Rossi who is an Italian and save the vacant place for a non EU player like Ganso or whom ever. Ibra did well at Scudito level so… Read more »
Ibra is no shevchenko
ronbino is no kaka
Overall we deserved the win, even though we lost im satisfied how milan performed as we are under construction.
We still lack that SPEED combinded with creativity in midfield, the kind of kaka gave milan.
No pastore, no ganso can do that. Therefore we shouldnt given kaka away, that costed us so much so far.
its a sad day for the rossoneri.
seedorf impressed alot.
I agree now, flamini is gettin on my nerves, hes a dangerous player.
ibra is doing bad lately – its like he didnt give any effort today!
robinho was good today, pato aswell.
janku did a bad job holding on to lennon
abate – love him
silva – love him
nesta – gettin worse, sadly :( wish we had bought d.luiz
boateng did great
congrats to WHL.im no loser but we should have beaten them.i really hate being a milan fan not because we lost, but because of our bad luck.we had four world class players out(pirlo cassano MVB ambro) and still prbably should have progressed.that can only happen to milan.not barca.maybe madrid.not bayern.ceratinly not united.only milan.but oh well, next year with a fully fit squad and a few more new players we will definately go far.WHL, hope you guys play your real exciting style of football,cuz all ive seen in the last 135 minutes was last year’s inter.a parked bus.
@shervin
If we didn’t get rid of Kaka we wouldn’t have the money we are using now to balance out the squad.
He could never have been apart of the rebuilding.
It’s a shame…though we’re out not because of tonight, but in spite of it. I thought it was a very decent performance; Seedorf was absolutely fantastic; the finishing touch seemed to be the problem, and maybe on a different night we could have won 3-0. :(
@nick I think there are some speculation also , I just can’t believe Milan executive board to be so stupid.I hope they return him back .. this is a new rumor .. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/222/transfer-zone/2011/03/08/2384365/zlatan-ibrahimovics-future-may-not-be-with-milan-agent-mino
@ tcl_00…I really hope there is some truth to that. I think he is bad for Pato. Maybe in Serie A he looks great but lets face it, Serie A is really lacking in quality at the moment and the game is not played with the same intensity as in the other European leagues. Ibra slowed down our attack today and allowed Spurs defenders to recover when we were on the break for a counter attack. He holds the ball up too long like Ronaldinho, thats not good. I really hope we get rid of him this summer. I was… Read more »
I WOULD LOVE TO GET THIS MESSAGE TO GALLI:(1) Kaka coming back to milan big mistake he cannot bring us back to glory days , (2)Mexes coming to milan bigger mistake mexes make elementary mistake,not that great of a passer,hot headed and is not discipline enuff to play alongside thiago silva who is a world class defender (3) milan cannot go forward in europe with IBRA who proved again today to be a big match flop ,(4) flamini is not good enuff for milan in 3 seasons he never really proved his worth ,(5) Binho is not clinical enough he… Read more »
One of the interesting/promising players that would add value to Milan is Ajax’s Christian Eriksen. He shouldn’t be very expensive to get, problem is he was hinting earlier that would like to go to Barsa.
christian eriksen is a very nice player he shouldn’t cost no more than 10-15 mil,he would be a huge step in the right direction ,its time to build stars instead of counting on fallen ones.
Now I know why Barca wanted to get rid of Ibra so bad – I hope Milan sends him back as well. We got Pato, Binho, Price so we are Ok in attack. Ibra created bad atmosphere and I think Pato is much better. Galliani better get some reinforcements in midfield and defense and we will be good for long time.
honestly this loss means nothing its not like tottenham is going to the finals there going to get there ass beat lol. more than anything it was milans injures and unluckness that made them lose and ibrahimovic i mean this guy is so slow until he sees the goal and the ball and until he kicks half the games over. hes 29 and u got rid of ronaldinho because hes old and a partys but still performes better than ibra and he is only 30. ibra is slow and old robinho cant kick strait and pato is a beast i… Read more »
After having some time to reflect, I think there are some serious questions that Galliani and company really need to decide what their goals are. If their goal is to consistently contend for the Scudetto, they have only minor tweaks to make; if their goal is to win the scudetto and contend every year for the Champions League, there are wholesale changes that are necessary. The more I think about things, the more I realize that Ibrahimovic has to go. He is a great Serie A player because of the pace of the league, but will always disappoint against the… Read more »
I think it was 4-3-2-1 thats why in the first half we were great in midfield and had the most possession.
Also did you guys see how Robinho missed( it hit both of his legs). he and Ibra played very bad
@ Marc – Now that’s the kind of talk I am looking for coulden’t disagree with you at all. Add to the list Christian Eriksen and Schalke GK, Abiatii getting old and soon will leave. To every star you have must have the proper replacement. Well said cheers FORZA MILAN
Ibra has been playing bad b/c we have no real sub for him. he has to play nonstop for milan because they wouldnt get a sub for him cuz of inzaghi trying to come back. milan shouldve won this game. robinho needs to practice shooting again at the next practice.
It was a great performance. But we were only lacking that goal. The Spurs, and their manager are liars… they said they were going to play to attack. They played to defend catenaccio style. We played to attack and we had several efforts cleared… including one off the line. And all of you Seedorf haters. He was the best on the pitch and he dictated everything. He was great tonight. We should have won this game… it’s just too bad that pathetic team went through. And stop with the fantasy football lists. We’re not getting Rossi, Lukaku, Hazard and Criscito.… Read more »
@Marc…I agree 100%. Milan has been putting a band aid on a wound that needs surgery. Ibra, Robinho, Antonini, Bonera and Flamini must go. Ibra’s attitude today was horrendous and Robinho’s finishing was bizarre to say the least. His finishing has cost us major points both in Serie A and the Champions League. Rossi can play in Robinho’s position and he is a better finisher. Lukaku can play alongside Pato. I like Hazard but I really think Nuri Sahin is much better! I would add Astori and M’villa to your list of players for next summer. With Ganso, Lukaku, Rossi,… Read more »
instesd of playing robinho we would played with extra midfielder merkel or strasser sell or loan out robino to any brazilian club IBRAHIMOVIC huhhhhhh he will score only in domestic league out of the three attackers PATO was better and creating threats for spurs defence but no support frm other two hope next season we will come with much stronger team BUT A NEW HEADACHE FOR ME how to answers my friends i was 100% sure we will pass through spurs now —– doens’t matter i will defend milan forza milan till DEATH
Milan played good football at White HOT Lane but we were 95 mins late. If we had played with same intensity at San Siro then I’m sure result would hav been different.
Ibra and Robinho must go? Why is that? I’ve seen other attacking players miss many shots, especially those who are in the real Madrid team. Why on earth are we going to get rid of the two players who are practically giving us the Scudetto? The ones that are getting the goals int he league? Lukaku? LOL. We’re not going to get him, and we certainly aren’t going to get Giuseppe Rossi. What I see is we need is midfielders… an attacking midfielder. We don’t need to through out Ibra and Robinho. Not at all. We’re not getting seven or… Read more »
We need a LB, an AM, maybe a CM and a goalkeeper. We don’t need to replace our attacking players. They need greater service. I’m irritated people want to throw out Robinho and Ibrahimovic… it’s almost outrageous. I’ll say nothing to that. Those responses don’t deserve or merit a response. Rossi has never been proven at the top level. It just irritates me that people want to throw out all of our players. Perhaps Balotelli should come… but as far as attacking players… we really should be focusing on the real issue. The creativity in midfield. Seedorf is playing his… Read more »
@Giancarlo: And stop with the fantasy football lists. We’re not getting Rossi, Lukaku, Hazard and Criscito. It just won’t happen. We need to be honest and realistic. Getting all of them, hell getting even two, is wildly unrealistic, I agree. I said those are who we should TARGET. Targeting those players would most likely net (no pun intended) at least one of them. I think it is realistic to expect the possibility of getting Criscito and Rossi. Rossi has said that he’d like to move back to Italy, and his new contract should allow that to happen much easier. If… Read more »
So many two faced individuals in here..
Yea, lets get rid of Ibra, the guy who’s led all year. Without him, we wouldn’t of gotten this far in CL. He’s the only one on our roster to have scored in the CL, ffs…oh, and without Zlatan, we wouldn’t be first in the league, this is fact!
Nice time Zlatan, or Robinho score, don’t celebrate.
Why is know one going after Pato? The guy who has a 0.50 strike rate in Italy, yet a 0.15 striker rate in CL….
Nice set of misleading stats, marc. Why get rid of Ibra? Why not get rid of Pato? He was the bigger flop this game. Ibra has 11 assists to his name this season. Not just goals. So that’s 14 goals, and 11 assists. Take your misleading stats somewhere else please. Giuseppe Rossi is going to Juventus, not Milan. And sell Robinho now? That would not be advantageous for Milan. We need to keep both Robinho and Ibrahimovic. We need to supply them with a proper midfield… that way Ibra won’t get as tired and can play better. He needs proper… Read more »
@Giancarlo…I understand your point..Yes other players miss goals no doubt but Robinho’s finishing is very poor. Like how many chances does he need to score especially in an empty goal! A player like Rossi would have done better. Now if you only want the scudetto then yes we can keep Ibra because thats all we will ever win with him and for a 24million price tag thats not enough for big club like Milan. I dont agree it would be redundant to have Ganso and Sahin in the same team as Ganso can play in Pirlo’s role. I agree with… Read more »
Robinho enables Ibra to play so well. We need to have an attacking midfielder behind our attacking players. We don’t need Sahin. We’re not getting him. Ganso is the most likely. We’re not going to get Lukaku, Rossi, Mvila, Criscito… maybe Astori, Ganso… a LB (I don’t know who)… we need to focus on our midfield. And we don’t need wholesale changes. Down the road we can get Balotelli… great CF, but poor attitude… needs to mature a bit. If it wasn’t for Ibra we would not have the scudetto in our hands. Don’t believe the hype? Ibra has 14… Read more »
“Ibra has 14 goals and 12 assists this season” because the teams plays for him. Its no different than last season when the team played for Ronaldinho. His ratio of assists and goals were no different. If you look at the great Milan teams that won trophies particularly the Champions League, those teams did not depend on one player! I doubt we will win the Champions league with Ibra. I would have to see it to believe it! The only trophy will will win is the scudetto. Inter realize that and got rid of him. The best decision they made… Read more »