Barcelona traveled to the San Siro Wednesday, where they were stunned by AC Milan. AC Milan took the lead in the 56th minute after a Kevin-Prince Boateng goal. Milan then secured the win in the 81st minute when Sulley Muntari scored to give the home side a 2-0 lead heading into the second leg at the Camp Nou.
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri was happy with his team’s performance after the match.
“The lads played well in defensive terms and didn’t let them near our penalty area. We know Barcelona kept possession for about 65 percent of the time, but we had five or six very favorable situations where we got the final pass wrong,” Allegri said.
It was actually 72 percent possession for Barcelona according to ESPNFC’s match stats. However, despite all the possession, AC Milan actually had more scoring chances in the game, and capitalized on them. Milan outshot Barcelona 8-7 in total shots and 3-1 in shots on goal.
Barcelona interim coach Jordi Roura said the poor playing conditions contributed to the team’s loss.
“They defended with a lot of organization. It was difficult to play, they stuck lots of players close together, the pitch was like a potato-field, not right for a match like this, which made it difficult for us,” Roura said.
If Roura thought Milan defended with a lot of players in this game, he should wait for the second leg at the Camp Nou. With a two goal lead and playing away from home, you can expect AC Milan to pack it in a try to maintain their two goal lead in order to move on. Milan could surprise everyone and come out attacking, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
“At the Camp Nou they will sit back, we need to go at them and hope we have better luck than here,” Barcelona midfielder Pedro said.
The second leg may not be very exciting if Milan try to hold on to their lead by playing 11 in the box, however, it will certainly garner interest. The way Barcelona have cruised through La Liga and drawing AC Milan in the Champions League, many thought Barcelona could cruise through the Champions League this season. Barcelona have not been knocked out of the competition yet, but it will be a difficult task to move on with a 2-0 deficit.
Written By: Eric Stoyanov, Contributing Writer, soccerprose.com
