AC Milan had won the first leg at the San Siro thanks to an early strike from Brahim Diaz, and both sides were coming off a domestic defeat last week.

news Football Thursday, March 09, 2023 - 15:35
Written by  IANS

Italian giants AC Milan progressed to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2011-2012 after a 0-0 draw with 10-man Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, March 8, eliminating the Premier League side 1-0 on aggregate. Milan had won the first leg at the San Siro thanks to an early strike from Brahim Diaz, and both sides were coming off a domestic defeat last week.

The two teams strung together a run of plays after kick-off as Junior Messias saw his attempt go wide of the post, while Harry Kane's deflected strike was saved by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, reports Xinhua.

As time wore on, Tottenham went down to ten men in the 77th minute when Cristian Romero received his second yellow card after an awful tackle on Theo Hernandez.

The game culminated in stoppage time as Kane's header forced a stunning save out of Maignan, while on the resulting counter, Divock Origi struck the upright.

The Rossoneri became the first Serie A side to progress into the Champions League quarterfinals this season, while Napoli and Inter Milan have their second-leg ties next week.

Bayern Munich also advanced into the quarterfinals after seeing off Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 (3-0 on aggregate) thanks to second-half goals from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry in the second leg of the last 16 on Wednesday. 

Both teams looked afraid to concede and focused on defence, with goalscoring opportunities remaining at a premium, reports news agency Xinhua.

"We made some mistakes in the first half but after the restart, we defended well and were patient. I think we were the better team in the second half and clinched a deserved victory," said Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann.

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