08 March 2023 , 05:30
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Tottenham will make AC Milan pay a heavy price if they try to defend their slender 1-0 lead in London on Wednesday.
That’s the warning Milan forward Brahim Diaz has sounded to his team-mates after handing them the advantage at San Siro three weeks ago. Diaz, who is on loan from Real Madrid, scored a scruffy but nevertheless crucial early goal in Italy in February to give the Italians the edge in their Champions League round-of-16 tie.
He said: “In the first match, we deserved a better score, but now we are prepared for the battle in London. This is our match of the season because we are very conscious that we want to go very far in the Champions League.
“The key for us on Wednesday will come in the first minutes of the night — we must control the ball from the start, that is the basic for us. Milan are not preparing for a defensive match because that will be a great error in our plan.
“Our 1-0 lead does not give us total security but it is more positive that if we’d drawn 0-0 and now the nerves will be from those inside Tottenham ’s stadium. The atmosphere there will be sensational and there will be much pressure.
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“These types of matches are always more intense and emotional, but we hold no fear going to London and we know that this Champions League edition is very open and that any team is capable of winning the title.”
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Cristian Stellini oversaw Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at Wolves on Saturday (Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)Diaz is on loan in Milan until the end of the season. He added: “My future? I am loaned by Real Madrid until the end of the campaign and we will decide our way for the following year. But in this moment, my head only is in Milan and on the game against Spurs.”
AC Milan travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a 2-1 defeat by Fiorentina on Saturday which left them fifth in Serie A. Spurs did not fare much better at the weekend, losing 1-0 at Wolves in a result which could come back to haunt them in their pursuit of a top-four finish.
Resurgent Liverpool are bearing down on Tottenham and will overtake them if they win their game in hand due to their superior goal difference. Assistant manager Cristian Stellini was in charge for the defeat in the Midlands but former Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte will return to the dugout against the Rossoneri after a period of rehabilitation following gallbladder surgery.