Ancelotti makes case for defence

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti showered his defence with praise after watching them withstand concerted FC Lokomotiv Moskva pressure to hold out for a 1-0 away victory which secured the Italian side a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

'Extremely satisfied'
"I am extremely satisfied with my defence who were wonderful under continual pressure from Lokomotiv in the last three-quarters of the second half," said Ancelotti. "It was a good match with good rhythm. We dominated the first half and in the second half Lokomotiv played a very good game. Overall it was well balanced and interesting and we're happy to reach the next stage."

Ancelotti happy
Even without injured Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko, Milan had enough quality to conquer their Russian opponents for the second time in seven days. The Lokomotiv stadium success, Milan's fourth 1-0 Group C win in as many games, was achieved thanks to Rivaldo's successful penalty conversion on 34 minutes after Filippo Inzaghi had been wrestled to the ground in the area. But the decision left Ancelotti's opposite number, Lokomotiv coach Yuri Semin, disappointed. "Such cases happen in every game," he said. "But congratulations to Milan with their progression to the next stage."

Semin singles out Serginho
Semin continued: "I congratulated my players too for a great match. We did not reach a positive result but I hope the fans enjoyed the match. The Milan players are reliable and concentrated - they made minimum scoring chances but used them to the maximum. Milan have flexible tactics and today they had a strong left wing where Serginho was playing - it was very difficult to work."

'Flawless defence'
Lokomotiv defender Dmitri Sennikov said: "We played well in the second half, we caught our breath and pushed forward a lot. However, Milan are famous for their capability to defend flawlessly and we could not do better." Midfield player Vadim Evseev added: "We did the best humanly possible at this time of year, in only the second official game of the season for us - but unfortunately this was not enough."

Kaladze content
Milan defender Kakha Kaladze, restored to the starting lineup after missing the match in Italy, said: "I am very happy we won and more importantly secured a place in quarter-finals. It is hard to judge when inside the game, but it felt like Lokomotiv put us under quite a lot of pressure in the second half. The pitch was very hard to play on and we were without Andriy Shevchenko."