Milan: A late goal from Peter Crouch has given Tottenham advantage in their Champions League tie with AC Milan. In a match which was filled with controversy, it will sadly be remembered for the antics of Gannaro Gattuso whose lack of discipline shone through.
Tottenham made a very quick start and could have had a penalty within 45 seconds. New signing Steven Pienaar made a dashing run down the left wing and delivered a cross which Alessandro Nesta threw his body at. Shouts of handball rose from the Spurs players but referee Stephane Lannoy was not impressed and waved play on. It would have been a start to die for for Spurs but alas, luck was not on their side.
Allegri was forced into an unusual and unexpected change after only 17 minutes when keeper Christian Abbiati fell to the ground clutching his forehead for no apparent reason. On closer inspection of a number of replays it seemed a challenge with Peter Crouch resulted in a blow to the head which took a little time to surface. The Milan coach's hand was forced and on loan Marco Amelia took to the field.
Tottenham were clearly playing for the draw as they were balancing attack with defence. They were not prepared to let recklessness allow Milan any sniff of a goal scoring opportunity and this prudence was paying dividends as they reached the half way with a 0-0 score line. No doubt Harry Redknapp would be more than happy with the way the match was progressing.
A lacklustre first half was all that was on offer to the fans present in a sodden San Siro with very little attacking football from either side. Milan looked very poor and so much more was to be expected of such an experienced and cultured side.
Thankfully the second half started much better than the first. Rafael Van der Vaart's audaciously cheeky chip from the edge of the area surprised everyone in the stadium not least Amelia how had to be sharp in dealing with the effort. It seemed as if the Dutchman was looking to square the ball when he decided to shoot at a perpendicular to his run. A sublime piece of technique which deserved a goal.
This moment of brilliance awoke Milan and shortly after Mario Yepes made his own impression on affairs, when from a corner the Colombian's looping header almost caught Heurelo Gomes unawares only for the Brazilian to push the ball away.
The game sprung to life and a terribly lunging tackle from Matthieu Flamini kick started a period in the game when all restraint and control was lost. Milan enforcer extraordinaire, Reno Gattuso decided to take matters into his own hands and dealt out his trademark brand of physical play. First Peter Crouch was the target then the Italian decided to give a shove to the Spurs assistant Joe Jordan. It was surprising that he only ended the night with a yellow card.
As the game was drawing to a close Spurs rolled the dice and launched men forward seeking for the precious away goal. This gamble paid off when after 79 minutes a blazing run from Aaron Lennon, which begun in his own half, was too much for Yepes whose lunging attempt of a tackle was easily skipped past. The England man delivered a square ball into the path of Crouch who stroked the ball towards the far post to give Tottenham a hard earned lead going into the second leg.
There could have been a bitter blow for Spurs right at the death when an overhead kick from Zlatan Ibrahimovich was chalked off when the referee spotted a foul in the build up. This decision was the catalyst for ugly scenes at the final whistle when Gattuso decided to take his frustration out on anyone he could from the Spurs camp and his target was Jordan again. No doubt UEFA will be forced into dealing with this show of petulance.
Spurs fans couldn't have asked for any more from this performance. A sturdy defensive display couple with industry and a slice of luck mean that when the teams met at White Hart Lane, Tottenham will be firmly in control of the tie.
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