Month: March 2012

BERLUSCONI DISAPPOINTED BY AC

AC Milan board member and daughter of AC Milan owner Berlusconi, Barbara Berlusconi, has said that she is extremely disappointed with the performance of her team in the second leg of the Championship League encounter with Arsenal at the Emirates stadium.

AC Milan were coming into the match after having secured a 4-0 advantage from the first leg.

This led many to believe that AC Milan already had qualified for the quarter-finals of the Championship League, but the match itself was extremely different. Arsenal managed to secure two goals early in the match, while they also scored just before half-time to go into the break with a 3-0 score.

Arsenal needed just one more goal in order to get level on the tie, although the prospect of AC Milan scoring one more goal would have eventually destroyed any hopes of Arsenal getting into the quarter-finals. AC Milan managed a quick counter-attack just before half-time, which did enough to scare Arsenal from attacking anymore in the second half. After a final few frantic minutes in the second half, AC Milan managed to get into the quarter-final draw. After the match, Barbara Berlusconi has said that she is extremely disappointed with the display.

“I’m not satisfied with the way Milan played. We did not see the real Milan. We were too afraid. My son covered his eyes with his hands during the second half and he kept saying: ‘Mom, I am afraid that they will score’,” Barbara told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Barbara Berlusconi also revealed that the San Siro will be having a major revamp in the near future, which is expected to be completed by 2015.

She has promised that the San Siro will be a destination with many restaurants, pubs, and shopping destinations that will more or less replicate the facilities at the Emirates stadium.

MILAN FOCUSSED ON WIN

AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that his club are extremely focused on doing the job at hand.

AC Milan will be facing Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 stage. They will bring in a lead of 4-0 first leg, which means that Arsenal face a daunting task in order to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Due to this commanding lead over Arsenal, there have been suggestions that AC Milan will be complacent when it comes to taking on the Gunners at the Emirates stadium. However, the AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that the club will certainly not be complacent for this match.

AC Milan are now known for their counter-attacking style of football and this match will perfectly suit their needs. They will come with the knowledge that they can just sit back and hit on the counter-attack, but some have been predicting that this may itself undo all the good work AC Milan had done in the first leg.

Former Tottenham midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Robinho all scored in the first leg to give AC Milan this huge advantage. No team in the Champions League has managed to progress into the next round after losing the first leg by four goals.

“We know how English teams play, so it’s going to be important to have the right approach to the game, with great attention and a great pace because I’m sure they’ll try to raise the pace tomorrow and try to find an early goal. I would insult the team if I would say I had seen some drop in focus in the past,” Massimiliano Allegri said ahead of the match.

AC Milan and Barcelona are the favourites to qualify for the quarter-finals without having played the second leg – the latest in-play Champions League betting makes AC Milan 1/3 to go through.