AC Milan secured a victory against Newcastle United that seemed a bit unexpected but fell perfectly into their Champions League strategy, according to Fikayo Tomori. Initially, Newcastle had the upper hand with Joelinton’s powerful goal, and the added boost of PSG’s struggle against Borussia Dortmund made it a dream scenario for Newcastle supporters.
However, PSG swiftly recovered, keeping their match intense, while AC Milan managed to equalize at St James’ Park. After that turning point, the game shifted gears, resembling a back-and-forth contest with both teams relentlessly pursuing a winning goal.
Ultimately, AC Milan clinched the decisive goal, dashing Newcastle’s Champions League hopes. The loss was devastating for both players and fans, especially considering the promising start at Tyneside.
Newcastle began the match dominating the field, with Milan struggling to make an impact offensively in the first half, which was surprisingly subdued.
Tomori disclosed Milan’s approach, acknowledging their anticipation of Newcastle’s aggressive play. For Milan, the focus was on solid defense and maintaining their presence in the game.
AC Milan knew Newcastle were going to be ‘aggressive’ in the first half
Tomori speaks to beIN Sports after his team defeated Newcastle 2-1. He explained how AC Milan coped with Newcastle’s threat, having correctly predicted the Magpies’ approach to the game.
“It was a good game,” he commented.
“We knew they were a strong team, especially at home in front of a big crowd.” We anticipated they’d start fast, and they did, so it was just a matter of being cool and compact and following to the game plan, which we did, so I’m very satisfied.
“I think we expected them to be strong and aggressive in their pressing and creating overloads in the wide areas in the first half.” We tried to combat that, even with that they had a lot of the ball, they had the goal and only one or two other chances in the first-half but I think overall we defended well.
“In the second half it was just about staying compact and stay in the game. We knew they were going to try and score another one and we just had to try and pick our moments to score, which we did.”
Milan deserve credit for their Champions League display away from home
It was heartbreaking to see us eliminated from the Champions League, but you have to give AC Milan a lot of credit for what they accomplished.
They defended excellently, with Tomori in particular putting such an outstanding performance. They made sure they stayed in the game, then took advantage of Newcastle’s mistakes on the counter.
Newcastle got out to a flying start, just as Milan had predicted. We were aggressive and put ourselves in dangerous situations, but Milan handled the majority of what we threw at them.
Late in the day, Newcastle’s situation got critical. Meanwhile, Milan had calmed down. Their game plan was excellent, and it led to them jumping above the Magpies and knocking them out of Europe.
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