Tottenham-Milan, second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League, started 10 minutes late. The AC Milan bus, stuck in London traffic, arrived very late at the stadium, after 8pm in Italy.
Bayern-Paris Saint Germain are also on the field
“We’re talking about Milan, Milan are used to playing at certain levels and have always tried to excel in Europe.” Stefano Pioli is not hiding, on the eve of the most important match, the one scheduled in London for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, against Tottenham. “We have the opportunity to write something important. The first leg was a balanced game, which we won because we played better. We have to try to do the same tomorrow. We have a small advantage, which we can’t manage. They’ll have to come back and They may give us some space, but we have to be careful: in the offensive phase they are very fearsome and we expect great intensity, especially at the beginning of the times”. It is a Milan with its head held high that launches the challenge to Spurs, playing at the New White Hart Lane in London for the chance to return after 11 years to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. A return to the past on which the near future of the club also depends, which with the next round would find an additional 20 million euro chip in its pocket and the possibility of planning the season finale and future transfer market decisions. But first of all a new injection of confidence, after the 2-1 draw on Saturday evening by the Franchi, and above all a start to 2023 which in sequence led to the farewell to the Italian Cup, the Italian Super Cup and also to the championship.
Milan landed in England focuses on the recovery of Giroud and Brahim Diaz, as well as on the presence between the posts of Maignan, the desire to resume the path of the last outings interrupted in the away match in Florence. For tomorrow’s match, Pioli restarts from the 1-0 scored by Brahim Diaz on Valentine’s Day evening. And the Spaniard will be the cornerstone from which to build Milan, which will take the field in London tomorrow. Once the knee sprain has been eliminated (“everyone’s fine, anyone can play from the start” Pioli said from London), his departure at the start could lift Krunic under attack, next to Leao and behind Giroud, who is in turn capable of forget the fever of the previous hours. In the event of Brahim entering the race, Krunic could be dropped back to the midfield to offer alternatives to Bennacer, who is in the running-in phase after the long stop: “I’m the real wildcard of the team, I can play anywhere”, explained the Bosnian. Domino game for Pioli’s choices, who before the kick-off must untie the knot between Messias and Saelemakers on the side lane, as well as that between Kjaer and one between Tomori and Thiaw in defense. “There won’t be a need to motivate the players, then it’s clear that from a tactical and strategic point of view we’ve done our tests,” Stefano Pioli explained on the eve. “English teams usually don’t change their attitude between home and away games, Tottenham do. At home they can be more intensive and we expect a more energetic home than the one seen in Milan. For this reason our approach must be intense: the episodes can determine the outcome, but it is important to try to make the episodes become favorable and not against”.
