1 year ago
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For Antonio Conte, it had been easy to wonder which Tottenham would turn up for the biggest game of the season so far. The team that outplayed and beat Manchester City on the Sunday before last? Or the one which collapsed at Leicester on Saturday?
Conte has craved consistency, a little stability and it was not for nothing on Monday night that he likened life at the club to a rollercoaster. This was the latest ride.
The manager, who continues to battle the after-effects of his gallbladder removal two weeks ago, felt his insides churn when Brahim Díaz scored for Milan with the tie’s first action.
Conte could feel the encouragement of a controlled performance from his team for much of the game thereafter. It did not seem as if they had too much to fear from Milan, who have struggled on the domestic front since the turn of the year. And yet it could have been worse for Spurs when Milan blew two massive chances towards the end.
Olivier Giroud headed down for the substitute, Charles De Ketelaere, who fluffed his lines badly and, moments later, following more excellent work by the star turn, Rafael Leão, Malick Thiaw, headed wide when he had to score. Spurs’s regret lay in their inability to create too much of clear-cut note. Eric Dier, booked harshly to incur a suspension, blew a header when well-placed late on. Spurs remain very much alive.
Spurs had created a few previous legends at one of the great cathedrals of European football – the Gareth Bale hat-trick against Internazionale (albeit in defeat); the Peter Crouch winner against Milan in a tie more famous for Gennaro Gattuso versus Joe “Jaws” Jordan; the Emmanuel Adebayor goal that edged a Europa League thriller.
Their mission was to create something more up to date and it was hampered by a selection crisis – a clutch of serious injuries plus Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s suspension.
It was about adapting, digging in, especially in midfield where there was always going to be a focus on Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr, who had started together only once before – in the FA Cup against League One Portsmouth.
The home crowd were bouncing when Díaz scored the early goal. Théo Hernandez got the better of Cristian Romero in an aerial duel and just kept on running up the left, unloading a shot before Dier could get across which forced Fraser Forster to parry.
In came Díaz, who shot and it looked as if Forster could be the hero when he pulled off a spectacular one-handed save. Not so. The ball looped up and Díaz flung himself into the diving header to score. Díaz’s run and reflexes were simply too sharp.
The sold-out stadium was a picture; the atmosphere pulsating. “Non Ti Ho Tradito,” read one of the banners before kick-off. “I have never cheated on you.” There were various other messages proclaiming the collective love for the Rossoneri. It was Valentine’s Day, Milan-style.
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Milan made inroads up the left; Leão a threat, Hernandez in the mood to rampage. Leão is a player that palpably loves the big occasion, comfortable on the outside or slicing inside.
Conte’s team stabilised after the Díaz goal, coming to enjoy possession, working combinations in enemy territory. They were the better team for the remainder of the first-half. Harry Kane dropped off to link the play – when he was not being fouled by Simon Kjær – while there were a couple of occasions when Spurs won the ball high up, Sarr doing so to tee up Emerson Royal for a shot, which was easy for Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Skipp grew into the game, having settled himself with a thunderous tackle on Leão. His passing was neat and tidy. Spurs would flicker on a couple of whipped Son Heung-min free-kick deliveries in the first-half and there was the sense before half-time that Stefano Pioli’s newly minted back three could be caught out if the final pass was right. That said, the interval came without Spurs having created a proper chance.
It was a homecoming for Conte, back at the stadium where he won the 2020-21 Serie A title with Internazionale. The boos when his name was read out were loud and predictable; ditto those for the ex-Inter player, Ivan Perisic, and Dejan Kulusevski, formerly of Juventus.
Romero played on the edge, as usual, the travelling fans watching through their fingers when he was one-on-one, including the moment when he jumped into a challenge on Sandro Tonali that he was never going to win. It brought a booking on 48 minutes.
Sarr emerged with honours on his Champions League debut, getting his foot in to win the ball, his positioning sound; his distribution confident, too. What a baptism it was for him in front of 74,320 fans who belted out their anthems from the first whistle.
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