AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri
insisted his side were still alive in
the Champions League after their
demoralising 1-0 defeat at the
San Siro by Tottenham.
- AC Milan 0-1 Tottenham
- Redknapp: Flamini tackle a
disgrace
Peter Crouch scored the only
goal of the game after a rapid
break by winger Aaron Lennon
and Milan struggled for fluency,
though they did test Heurelho
Gomes with two headers from
defender Mario Yepes.
The match descended into chaos
at times during the second half
as Gennaro Gattuso grabbed
Totenham's assistant manager
Joe Jordan by the throat and
then aimed a headbutt at him
after the final whistle.
But Allegri dismissed the incident
telling Sky Sport Italia: "I didn't
understand what happened
there. It was just a scuffle,
nothing serious."
However, Gattuso later told La
Gazzetta dello Sport: "I lost my
head. I was wrong. There is no
justification for what I did. I'm not
going to say what was said,
that's between us, we were
speaking Scottish. Do I expect a
ban? I'll accept whatever I get."
Meanwhile, Allegri maintained
Milan's defeat was "undeserved
and qualification is still wide open."
He added: "We are paying the
price for the mistake we made on
the counter-attack.
"We were looking for the goal
against Tottenham, who defended
very well and it was difficult to
find space. In the second half we
played further up the pitch and
created chances. We were too
timid before the break and didn't
attack Tottenham properly.
"We'll need a different approach
in London, which we did see in
parts in the second half tonight.
It's difficult for anyone to play
when Spurs come to San Siro and
close down all the spaces. You've
got to give credit to Tottenham
for their defending."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a
disappointing night, capped off by
a disallowed goal in injury time for
a push on Michael Dawson but
Allegri defended the striker.
"Up until now Ibra has always
done great things. This isn't the
match to judge whether he's had
a good or bad season in Europe."
Allegri confirmed goalkeeper
Christian Abbiati was having tests
at hospital after he was
substituted in the first half for
concussion.
May 07, 2010, 01:44:17 AM