AC Milan got a rare victory over a Premier League side today as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the San Siro in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 ties.
Brahim Diaz scored the only goal in the first half as the Rossoneri earned a famous victory over the North London club.
They had met four times in the competition, and Tottenham were unbeaten, winning two and drawing two.
AC Milan came into the game following a wretched January that saw them drop from second to fifth on the Serie A log.
They also lost the Italian Super Cup to rivals Inter Milan in that poor run. But they managed a 1-0 victory over Torino this weekend to end their losing rot.
Tottenham have also been wildly inconsistent lately. They beat Manchester City before losing to Leicester City this weekend.
Tottenham have been looking defensively fragile, but they must have fancied themselves against Milan.
Stefano Pioli played a back three, matching his opponents with Theo Hernandez and Alexis Saelemaekers as wing-backs.
The Serie A champions looked sharper and more cohesive early on, with Rafael Leao a constant danger. When they doubled on him, it allowed Hernandez to get forward, and the Frenchman is also deadly.
The Milan captain beat Cristian Romero in an aerial duel before shooting at Fraser Forster, who stayed big to save. But the rebound fell for Diaz, who took two bites of the cherry to score the opening goal after only seven minutes.
Milan led, so they defended deep and repelled everything Tottenham threw. Simon Kjaer marked Harry Kane judiciously. Although he should have seen a yellow card for multiple fouls on the England forward.
Malick Thiaw was imperious for Milan again, continuing his recent form in defence.
Before the halftime whistle, Kane hit the underside of the bar following a Son Heung-min shot, but the South Korean was offside.
Charles Ketelaere and Junior Messias came on for Stefano Pioli’s side in the second half. They both missed huge chances to increase the lead.
Despite the misses, Milan held on for a deserved win and will travel to London confidently. If they can replicate this performance on March 8, they will likely qualify for the quarterfinals.
There are more worries for Tottenham boss Antonio Conte as his side looked second best today.
They were beaten comprehensively and barely created anything noteworthy while being susceptible at the back.
Spurs now face a fight to make it through to the next round with this slight first-leg deficit.
They will hope they can gather momentum against Chelsea, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league before welcoming the Serie A champions to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.
