Tottenham ‘surprised’ Andriy Shevchenko in Champions League last 16 exit to AC Milan

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Andriy Shevchenko admits Tottenham Hotspur ‘surprised’ the AC Milan icon with how they tackled their Champions League tie. He felt Spurs lost their way early on in the second leg.

The Rossoneri dumped Antonio Conte’s squad out of the UEFA competition with a 1-0 win on aggregate on Wednesday. Brahim Diaz’s goal seven minutes into the first leg sealed his Serie A side’s spot in the quarter-final. He headed home after Fraser Forster’s double save.

Tottenham rarely went close to drawing level in the second leg as AC Milan held firm. Mike Maignan did well to deny Pierre-Emilie Hojbjerg and Harry Kane, who recorded Spurs’ only attempts on target. Kane also sent a header wide whilst often starved of much real service.

Conte opted for a conservative approach on his return to the Tottenham dugout at home to AC Milan. Cristian Romero did not help the Italian’s efforts, either, after receiving a red card. Referee Clement Turpin showed two yellows for fouls on Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez.

Romero’s red card was just one problem for Tottenham on a poor night against AC Milan, though. Spurs rarely seemed like creating an equaliser and dropped their levels after half-time. The Premier League team started with signs of promise knowing they had to score.

Tottenham’s display in the Champions League vs AC Milan ‘surprised’ Shevchenko

Yet Shevchenko felt the wheels started to fall off the Tottenham wagon only 15 minutes in at home to his former team, AC Milan, in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. From then on, the Ukraine icon felt Conte’s team lacked any real cohesion to get any result.

“They held the game very well,” Shevchenko told Amazon Prime, via TuttoMercatoWEB. “They were concentrated from the first minute, Milan were very lively. Tottenham surprised me. They tried a lot in the first 15 minutes but then they were out of rhythm.”

Fikayo Tomori snuffed out Tottenham’s first real opening against AC Milan as the defender raced back to deny Dejan Kulusevski. Hojbjerg and Kane then combined to take advantage of Junior Messias’ mistake. While Tomori also blocked Emerson Royal’s early sight of goal.