Tottenham Hotspur vs AC Milan. UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance61,602.
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Tottenham 0-0 AC Milan (agg 0-1): Antonio Conte's side dumped out of Champions League as 15-year trophy drought continues
Match report as Tottenham deliver woeful performance in drab stalemate with AC Milan; Cristian Romero sent off for second yellow card late on as visitors advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals; Tottenham's 15-year trophy drought continues with boos at full-time from fans
Thursday 9 March 2023 06:18, UK
Tottenham saw their hopes of lifting a trophy this season ended as they were dumped out of the Champions League by AC Milan 1-0 on aggregate after a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the last-16 tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs were unable to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg, delivering a poor performance on Antonio Conte's return to the touchline which was compounded by a late red card for Cristian Romero.
AC Milan had the better of the first half and even though Tottenham marginally improved in the second, the visitors still had clearer chances when Fraser Forster denied Brahim Diaz with a superb save and substitute Divock Origi hit the post in injury time.
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The full-time whistle was met by loud boos from the home supporters, who have not seen their side win a trophy for 15 years and now only have a top-four finish to play for this season with Conte's contract set to expire in 12 games' time.
How Spurs crashed out
After kick-off was delayed by 10 minutes due to both team buses arriving late, Tottenham showed zero quality in the first half with AC Milan more than comfortable although they should have pushed to increase their lead.
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Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet were both booked inside the first 21 minutes which meant they would miss the quarter-finals as Milan went closest seeing Junior Messias fire recklessly wide from inside the box at the end of a well-worked free-kick routine.
Tottenham lacked creativity from midfield and their only moment in the first half came when Kane received the ball in the box and his cross was deflected towards goal and diverted behind by the left leg of goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
The impressive Diaz forced a crucial save from Forster at the start of the second half who spread himself big to save from close range.
Tottenham tried to pass the ball quicker in the opposition half and saw Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg drive into the box and fire at goal which was pushed over by Maignan.
AC Milan were wasteful in possession and were there for the taking yet Spurs couldn't break them down before Romero recklessly slid in on Theo Hernandez by the touchline and was shown a second yellow card.
Maignan produced a fine save to keep out an injury-time header from Harry Kane and on the counter-attack, Origi could have wrapped up the tie but hit the left post.
Rose: Everyone has to be held accountable
Former Tottenham defender Danny Rose on Sky Sports:
"Over the two legs, it was well deserved for AC Milan. The Italian side played in third gear tonight, they didn't need to go any higher than that.
"Spurs just weren't good enough. They had just two shots on target in the 90 minutes and it's just not good enough. There was a lack of energy and a lack of ideas. It was so flat and dull.
"Pre-World Cup I was excited and intrigued to see where they might finish, but since the World Cup, with the way they've played, this isn't really a surprising result.
"What is being served up week in, week out at the football club is not good at all.
"People talk about Spurs having the best stadium. You can have the best house but if the furniture is not the best inside, it's irrelevant. Everybody has got to be held accountable.
"Daniel Levy has said about the signings not being great and that is bizarre because I'm sure I said something like that six years ago and got fined two week's wages.
"Everybody needs to take some blame and it will be interesting to see where they go from here until the end of the season."
Opta stats: Spurs fire a blank again
- Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win any of their last five UEFA Champions League knockout matches (D1 L4) since a 3-2 win over Ajax in May 2019.
- Milan have reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2011-12, when they knocked out Arsenal in the last 16.
- This was Tottenham Hotspur's first goalless draw in a home game in all competitions since September 2017 against Swansea at Wembley, ending a run of 147 home games without a 0-0 draw.
- Spurs have failed to score in three consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since April and May 2019, all 1-0 defeats against West Ham, Ajax and Bournemouth.
What's next?
Tottenham face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday; kick off is at 3pm. AC Milan host Salernitana on Monday at 7.45pm in Serie A.