Brahim Diaz’s early goal condemned Tottenham to a 1-0 loss against AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at San Siro.
Former Manchester City winger Diaz bundled home from close range after seven minutes and Spurs were fortunate not to fall further behind in the closing stages when Milan spurned two glorious headed chances through Charles De Ketelaere and Malick Thiaw.
Instead, Antonio Conte will be relieved to return to north London with a deficit of only one goal having been forced to field a central midfield pairing of Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr due to Rodrigo Bentancur’s injury and the suspension of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Skipp and Sarr performed well in difficult circumstances on their full Champions League debuts but, in a largely cagey encounter, Spurs, beaten 4-1 by Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday, were unable to create any clear scoring chances.
Their personnel issues will continue in the second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a yellow card to Eric Dier meaning he will miss out through suspension, but the one-goal margin of defeat means the tie is still open for Conte and his players.
How Milan claimed their win
Conte claimed some of his players struggle to cope with pressure after the 4-1 loss to Leicester and, at a hostile San Siro, Milan’s early opener seemed to provide further evidence.
The goal came after Theo Hernandez beat Cristian Romero to a long pass on the left and forced a parry from Forster, who then acrobatically saved Diaz’s follow-up, only for the winger to force the loose ball into the net with a diving header.
Spurs were having to work hard to contain the dangerous Rafael Leao but they slowly settled into the game after the early goal, causing problems for the hosts with a series of set-piece deliveries, albeit without creating any clear chances in the first half.
The second period began with a let-off for the reckless Romero, who was only booked, with VAR upholding the decision not to send him off, after he went flying into Sandro Tonali as Milan sprang forward on the counter-attack.
The game continued to follow a similar pattern after that, with Leao the only player providing a spark and Spurs struggling to turn their possession into scoring opportunities.
Conte threw on Richarlison for Dejan Kulusevski in an attempt to increase his side’s attacking threat but all they could muster were occasional half-chances, with Sarr sending a long-range effort straight at Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The hosts then had two golden opportunities to ram home their advantage, with De Ketekaerem, on as a substitute only moments earlier, heading tamely wide after Oliver Giroud had nodded a cross back into the danger area, and defender Thiaw then doing the same when picked out by Leao in an even better position.
Dier failed to connect properly with a header of his own, from a corner, as Spurs attempted to punish those Milan misses at the other end of the pitch, but they never really looked like scoring.
What’s next for Spurs?
Sunday 19th February 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Tottenham return to Premier League action with a home game against West Ham, live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday from 3.30pm; kick-off 4.30pm.
Spurs will play the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with AC Milan on Wednesday March 8 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; kick-off 8pm.
