Even though this was their third meeting in the competition, it took nothing away from the build up and anticipation for the clash between two of European football's most decorated clubs. Barcelona held the edge, drawing at the San Siro and winning a five-goal thriller at the Nou Camp in the group stage, but the encounter in Milan on Tuesday failed to live up to all the hype--ending scoreless, leaving everything to play for in the return leg next week.
AC Milan has struggled all year with injuries to key players and went into the match minus an important piece to their defensive puzzle, losing Thiago Silva to a thigh injury over the weekend and having to do without the physical prowess of Mark Van Bommel in the midfield after being ruled out through a suspension--good news prior to kick-off was the return of Kevin-Prince Boateng and Robinho into the starting eleven. Massimiliano Allegri also possessed some historical luck on his side, with Milan never having lost a home leg at this stage of the tournament, but was winless in their last five matches against the Catalan giants.
The first half started fast and furious with Milan immediately going on the offensive, almost catching Barcelona on their heels—the visitors looked visibly flustered and caught off guard by the direct play of their opponents. An error by Sergio Busquets should have proved costly early on; the giveaway produced two huge chances for the Rossoneri to take the lead--only a timely block by Javier Mascherano on a thunderous open strike by Boateng from the centre of the 18 yard box kept it scoreless. That was followed by probably one of the worst volley attempts witnessed in the tournament, with Robinho left unmarked at the edge of the six yard box, only to send his shot embarrassingly over the bar. Victor Valdes was at his mercy and the Brazilian failed to even test the goalkeeper--it could have changed the shape of the match moving forward and given Milan a much needed edge going into the Camp Nou.
As expected, Barcelona seized control and dictated the flow of play for the remainder of the first half. The pitch condition seemed to be the cause of many problems, the slick surface on many occasions saw the visitors lose their footing when attempting to shoot or pass and at times struggled to stay on their feet--slightly hindering their high tempo tiki-taka style. Milan have a history of altering the surface based on their opponent, look no further than the match against Arsenal and how both flanks looked bone dry and in need of watering--it proved useful in stopping the Gunners potent attack from the wings. Those initial feelings were justified after the match with Barcelona lodging an official complaint to UEFA over the matter.
Despite having 70% possession, Barcelona actually had one less shot on target than the hosts as the first half ended scoreless—first time in 13 Champions League matches the Blaugrana failed to find the net. Their best chance fell to Alexis Sanchez, sent clean through off a trick set-piece, only to be brought down by Christian Abbiati in the box. Replays clearly show the Chilean being tripped, but his attempt to go around the goalkeeper sent the ball away from goal and a penalty call would have been seriously harsh—luckily for the Rossoneri the referee decided against calling for the foul.
Unfortunately, the second half proved to be a snoozer, with quality chances at a minimum for both sides. Thankfully, the end result sets up an epic showdown at the Camp Nou.
Was the absence of Thiago Silva noticeable in the Rossoneri back four?
Barcelona were given way too much space on the ball, and allowed to move around at will—not that it’s easy to contain such an offensive juggernaut. Alessandro Nesta replaced Silva and the alarm bells started to ring early with his incredible lack of pace being exposed, the Italian defender was nursing his own knock and not fully fit. Milan had trouble trying to suffocate the Blaugrana's high tempo tiki-taka style of play, with Xavi and Lionel Messi causing all kinds of problems—able to pass their way through even the tightest of spaces. But overall, the absence of Silva was not felt as much as expected. Luca Antonini put forth a tremendous performance and saved two sure goals with last ditch challenges. It could have been much worse, but it’s hard to find flaws from a back four that fought hard and helped Abbiati pitch a clean sheet—a rarity against the Catalans.
How much of an impact did Messi have in the match?
This was the first match in which Messi failed to score a goal, the last time this happened was in early February against Osasuna. The Argentine finished with six shots, two forcing Abbiati into good saves, with one being rightfully called back for offside. As usual, Messi was all over the pitch creating chances but was unable to forge the lethal strike—chalk it up to a rare anomaly from the world's greatest footballer.
Did Zlatan Ibrahimovic lead by example?
The Swede was more often than not an afterthought in a match dictated by Barcelona, with Milan's offence looking stale and unable to find a solid rhythm. Ibrahimovic gifted Robinho his chance to score in the fourth minute, setting up a sure goal on a silver platter only for his teammate to scupper the chance. In the 20th minute, the clubs leading scorer was denied by a quick thinking Victor Valdes on a partial breakaway, set up by Clarence Seedorf's lovely through ball that went right through the heart of Barcelona's defensive back-line. It is difficult to find any fault in his game other than not finishing the opportunities that were presented, defence was the key to a positive result—Ibrahimovic will need to be at his best in the return leg because goals will be needed to achieve a spot in the semifinals.
Man of the match goes too...
Luca Antonini gets my vote, although, Abbiati was a close second after making a couple of key saves to earn the clean sheet. However, the Italian defender's total disregard for his own body and health was the reason the visitors did not leave the San Siro with a victory. His work rate was exceptionally high and did a great job to compensate for the loss of Silva in the backline.
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