Ac Milan put on a solid display at San Siro as they held mighty Barcelona in a goalless draw, might not be a pretty sight at home but it was actually a pretty good scoreline for the Rossoneri ahead of the second leg at Nou Camp.
Both teams actually had some excellent goal scoring opportunities, but the Rosssoneri’s chance mostly arrived in the first half as they were having problem in connecting their final ball in the second period.
Playing in front of their die hard fans, Milan were gunning for a quick opening goal and nearly had one when they managed to press Barcelona’s defense in first two minutes, resulting in a double chance for Kevin Prince Boateng and Robinho. The latter should have put the ball in the net though as he was left unmarked inside the penalty area and only needed to guide the ball into the net as Barca’s goal keeper, Victor Valdes was also rooted to the spot as the Brazilian blasted his shot wide.
That chance spurred Barcelona’s on as they started to attack the home team and created some chances, although not necessarily guild edge opportunities that was missed by Robinho. It was a rather tight game in the end with Barca having more of the possession but Milan can still broke through and counter the Catalan side from every end, targeting Ibrahimovic and Robinho in front.
Barcelona’s unique setup play almost caught Milan off-guard when Alexis Sanchez suddenly broke free and had a penalty appeal when he was blocked by Christian Abbiatti, but the protest was waved away. The replay showed there’s might have been a contact but, the referee judged the Chilean to be looking for the foul as he made no effort at all in getting away from the keeper’s burst. Ibrahimovic in the other once again should have helped Milan took the lead but a poor finish lets him down.
Nothing change much in the second period, but Milan were much more solid in the midfield as they managed to press Barcelona players very well in that area, forcing the match to get rather dull at times. The Catalan boys did make more dangerous chances in that half, but some excellent piece of defending done by the Rossoneri players simply frustrated the opponents, forcing both teams in the end settling for 0-0 draw, which basically isn’t that negative for Milan.
Match Report:
Ac Milan v Barcelona 0-0
Milan: Abbiati; Bonera, Nesta (Mesbah 74), Mexes, Antonini; Nocerino, Ambrosini, Seedorf; Boateng (Emanuelson 67); Robinho (El Shaarawy 51), Ibrahimovic
Barcelona: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Puyol; Xavi Hernandez, Busquets, Keita, Iniesta (Tello 65); Messi; Alexis Sanchez (Pedro Rodriguez 76)