AC Milan vs Tottenham match facts

AC Milan make their return to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds after an absence of nine seasons to take on a Tottenham Hotspur side who are in the round of 16 for the first time since 2019/20.

Milan made it through as Group E runners-up, progressing despite losing away and at home to section winners Chelsea, while Spurs snatched first place in Group D in the final seconds of a thrilling Matchday 6 denouement.

This is the Rossoneri's 11th round of 16 appearance but their first since 2013/14 – the tenth time they had reached this stage in 11 seasons. Spurs, meanwhile, are in the round of 16 for the fifth time, the first bringing them a notable victory against these opponents.

Previous meetings

This is only the sides' fifth fixture, and a first since the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League round of 16, when Peter Crouch's 80th-minute strike for Harry Redknapp's Tottenham in the San Siro first leg proved to be the only goal of the tie against Massimiliano Allegri's Milan.

Zlatan Ibrahimović, who played all 180 minutes, is the only survivor from either club.

Spurs went on to lose 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals (0-4 a, 0-1 a).

The teams' first tie had come in the semi-finals of the inaugural UEFA Cup in 1971/72, Steve Perryman's double giving Spurs a 2-1 home first-leg win after Romeo Benetti had put Milan in front at White Hart Lane. Alan Mullery stretched the English club's aggregate advantage seven minutes into the San Siro second leg, Milan bowing out despite Gianni Rivera's second-half penalty.

Spurs went on to beat fellow English side Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate in the two-legged final.

Form guide

Milan

Having ended their seven-year absence from the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2021/22, this is Milan's second successive campaign and 19th overall, four behind the Italian record held by Juventus.

Last season Stefano Pioli's side finished bottom of Group B behind Liverpool, Atlético de Madrid and Porto having collected four points, their sole victory a 1-0 success in Madrid on Matchday 5.

That was the first time Milan had failed to qualify from the initial group stage in a UEFA Champions League campaign since 1999/2000, ending a run of 12 straight successes.

Seven times champions of Europe, most recently in 2007, the Rossoneri have been eliminated in the round of 16 in five of their seven UEFA Champions League campaigns since that triumph.

Milan's last appearance in the round of 16 brought a 5-1 aggregate defeat against Atlético in 2013/14 (0-1 h, 1-4 a). The Italian club's overall record at this stage is W5 L5.

Milan are the only Italian side to win the UEFA Champions League more than once having triumphed in 1994, 2003 and 2007. They were also beaten finalists in 1993, 1995 and 2005 but have not reached the quarter-finals since 2011/12.

Pioli's team responded to last season's early European exit by winning the Serie A title, the club's 19th league championship and a first since 2010/11.

This season, Milan picked up ten points in Group E to finish three behind Chelsea – who beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and 2-0 at San Siro – clinching second place thanks to 4-0 victories in each of their last two games, at Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Salzburg. Those wins equalled the club's biggest margins of victory in the UEFA Champions League.

Despite beating Dinamo Zagreb twice in this season's group stage and Salzburg once, Milan have won only five of their last 19 UEFA Champions League games (D5 L9); the Matchday 6 defeat of Salzburg made it four wins in their last 15 home fixtures, group stage to final (D6 L5), the 3-1 defeat of Dinamo on Matchday 2 having ended a six-game run without a victory (D3 L3).

The Italian side have managed only two wins in their last 12 matches in the round of 16, losing eight – although one of those victories was a 4-0 first-leg success against Tottenham's neighbours Arsenal in 2011/12, a tie they won despite a 3-0 second-leg loss in north London.

This season's losses to Chelsea have made it five successive defeats by English clubs for Milan, who have won just eight of their 19 home games against English visitors (D4 L7), losing the last four and seven of the last eight.

Home and away, that 4-0 defeat of Arsenal at San Siro in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg is Milan's only win in their last 17 games against Premier League opponents (D4 L12). They have lost eight of their last nine (D1).

Milan's record in two-legged knockout ties against English opposition is W8 L7, although they have lost five of the last six, most recently against Manchester United in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (1-1 a, 0-1 h).

The Rossoneri also have a positive record in European finals against English clubs, beating Leeds 1-0 in Salonika to lift the 1973 European Cup Winners' Cup, taking the UEFA Super Cup at Arsenal's expense in 1995 (0-0 a, 2-0 h), and overcoming Liverpool 2-1 in the 2007 UEFA Champions League showpiece in Athens – two years after they had lost the same fixture to the same opponents on penalties following a 3-3 draw in Istanbul.

Tottenham

Tottenham are in the UEFA Champions League proper for the sixth time, and the first since 2019/20, which was their fourth participation in as many seasons. Their best performance came in 2018/19, when they reached a first European Cup final but lost 2-0 to Liverpool in an all-English decider in Madrid.

In their most recent UEFA Champions League campaign, three seasons ago, Spurs finished second in Group B on ten points, eight behind Bayern München – who had won 7-2 in north London on Matchday 2, Tottenham's heaviest home European defeat – before losing to another German club, Leipzig, in the round of 16 (0-1 h, 0-3 a).

The Lilywhites were in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League in 2021/22, finishing third in Group G behind Rennes and Vitesse on seven points.

This season, Spurs took only four points from their first three games but seven from the next three, courtesy of a 3-2 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP and a closing 2-1 victory at Marseille. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg's goal five minutes into added time on Matchday 6 secured first place in Group D on 11 points, one ahead of Frankfurt.

That was only the third time Spurs had finished first in their UEFA Champions League section, the others in 2010/11 and 2017/18 when they finished ahead of Inter Milan and Real Madrid respectively, although all but one of their six seasons in the competition have now extended into the knockout rounds.

Tottenham qualified for this season's UEFA Champions League by finishing fourth in the 2021/22 Premier League, their highest final league placing since 2018/19.

The Matchday 6 win in Marseille ended Tottenham's seven-game run without a victory in away European fixtures, a run that included five defeats; they have four victories in their last 13 away UEFA Champions League matches (D4 L5).

Spurs' round of 16 record is W2 L2, the 2010/11 win against Milan coming in their first tie and the 2019/20 defeat by Leipzig the most recent.

Tottenham last faced Italian opposition in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage, beating Milan's neighbours Inter 1-0 in north London after a 2-1 loss at San Siro. That defeat in Milan made their away record against Serie A sides W1 D4 L5, the sole success that 2011 win at AC Milan.

The home victory against Inter is one of only two in Spurs' last eight fixtures against Italian sides (D3 L3).

Tottenham boast a strong record in two-legged ties against Italian opponents: W4 L2. One of those defeats came in the most recent encounter, however, against Juventus in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (2-2 a, 1-2 h).

Links and trivia

Antonio Conte was in charge of Milan's city rivals Inter between 2019 and 2021, reaching the UEFA Europa League final in 2019/20 and winning the Serie A title the following season. Under Conte, Inter won four of their five derby fixtures against Milan – including a 2-1 quarter-final win in the Coppa Italia in January 2021 – losing the other.

Conte played in Serie A for Lecce (1985–91) and Juventus (1991–2004). He also coached Atalanta (2009/10) and Juventus (2011–14) in Serie A before taking charge of Italy between 2014 and 2016. His record against Milan as a coach was W6 D3 L1, his Juve side knocking Milan out of the Coppa Italia in the 2011/12 semi-finals and the following season's quarter-finals.

Alessandro Florenzi was in Conte's Italy squad at UEFA EURO 2016.

Conte coached Olivier Giroud at Chelsea in 2018.

Giroud scored 39 goals in 119 games for Chelsea between 2018 and signing for Milan in 2021, including one in a 4-1 win against former club Arsenal in the 2019 UEFA Europa League final; he also appeared in Chelsea's 2018 FA Cup final victory under Conte and was an unused substitute in their 2021 UEFA Champions League defeat of Manchester City. The Frenchman had scored 105 times in 253 games for Arsenal between 2012 and 2018, winning three FA Cups.

Giroud scored four goals in his 18 games against Tottenham for Arsenal and Chelsea with the record W7 D5 L6.

Conte was assistant coach at Siena when Antonio Mirante was the goalkeeper in 2005/06.

Have also played in England:
Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea 2005–21, Brighton 2017 loan, Hull 2017/18 loan, Derby 2018/19 loan)
Ismaël Bennacer (Arsenal 2015–17)
Brahim Díaz (Manchester City 2015–19)
Divock Origi (Liverpool 2014–22)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Manchester United 2016–18)

Origi scored Liverpool's second goal in their 2-0 win against Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, and also won the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, the 2019/20 Premier League and, last season, the English League Cup and the FA Cup while at Anfield.

In 2016/17 with United Ibrahimović won the English League Cup, scoring twice in the final win against Southampton, and the UEFA Europa League, although he missed the latter final through injury.

Ivan Perišić was an Inter player between 2015 and 2022, spending 2019/20 on loan at Bayern München, and was coached by current Milan boss Stefano Pioli in 2016/17. He won the 2020/21 Serie A title and the 2021/22 Coppa Italia with the Nerazzurri.

Have also played in Italy:
Cristian Romero (Genoa 2018–20, Atalanta 2020/21)
Dejan Kulusevski (Atalanta 2016–20, Parma 2019/20 loan, Juventus 2020–22)
Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus 2017–22)

Rafael Leão was in the Sporting CP academy when Eric Dier was also at the Portuguese club between 2012 and 2014.

Have also played together:
Simon Kjær & Clément Lenglet (Sevilla 2017/18)
Zlatan Ibrahimović & Lucas Moura (Paris Saint Germain 2013–16)

International team-mates:
Olivier Giroud, Mike Maignan, Theo Hernández & Hugo Lloris, Clément Lenglet (France)
Ante Rebić & Ivan Perišić (Coatia)
Simon Kjær & Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Denmark)
Zlatan Ibrahimović & Dejan Kulusevski (Sweden)
Fodé Ballo-Touré & Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
Brahim Díaz & Pedro Porro (Spain U21)

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was a direct opponent of Giroud in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final as Argentina lifted the trophy at France's expense, the striker being substituted before half-time.

Latest news

Milan

UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Andrea Bartoccioni*, Federico Mangiameli*, Fotios Pseftis*, Malick Thiaw
Out: Sergiño Dest, Andreas Jungdal
*B list

Milan's Serie A record since Matchday 6 is W4 D3 L3. They ended a run of three straight league losses, and five Serie A matches without a win (D2 L3), with a 1-0 home victory against Torino on Friday.

That was Milan's 3,000th Serie A match; they are the fourth team to reach that landmark, after Inter, Roma and Juventus. They have won 1458 of those games (D879 L663).

Olivier Giroud scored the only goal, his second in three games.

The Rossoneri have already lost five league games in 2022/23, one more than in the whole of their title-winning campaign last season.

Stefano Pioli's side were without a win in seven games in all competitions (D2 L5) before beating Torino.

On 24 January Milan went down 4-0 at Lazio and were beaten 5-2 at home by Sassuolo five days later. It was the first time they had conceded four or more goals in consecutive Serie A games.

That game against Sassuolo was the first in which Milan had conceded five or more goals at home since a 6-1 defeat by Juventus on 6 April 1997.

Milan shipped 18 goals in seven games in all competitions in January.

February started with another defeat in Serie A, a 1-0 derby reverse to Inter making it three consecutive league losses for the first time since September 2019.

Milan have failed to score in four of their last seven games in all competitions.

Milan were eliminated in the Coppa Italia round of 16 by a 1-0 home extra-time loss against Torino on 11 January.

A week later the Rossoneri lost 3-0 to Inter in the Italian Super Cup.

On 12 January midfielder Ismaël Bennacer renewed his contract until 2027; defender Pierre Kalulu agreed a new deal in November, also running to 2027.

Bennacer (thigh) and Fikayo Tomori (hip) have been out since 24 January.

A calf injury has kept Mike Maignan on the sidelines since 22 September.

Alessandro Florenzi has not played since 30 August due to a thigh injury.

Zlatan Ibrahimović is still to appear this season after knee surgery in May, although he was an unused substitute against Torino on Friday.

Theo Hernández and Giroud both started the 2022 FIFA World Cup final for France, who lost on penalties against Argentina. Both players made six appearances at Qatar 2022, Giroud scoring four goals and Hernández one.

Giroud now has a record 53 goals for France, his round of 16 strike against Poland surpassing Thierry Henry's previous national best of 51.

Tottenham

UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Arnaut Danjuma, Pedro Porro, Alfie Whiteman
Out: Matt Doherty, Bryan Gil, Djed Spence

In January Spurs brought in Arnaut Danjuma (Villarreal) and Pedro Porro (Sporting CP) on loan for the rest of the season. Matt Doherty joined Atlético de Madrid on a permanent deal while Bryan Gil and Djed Spence will spend the rest of the season on loan at Sevilla and Rennes respectively.

Tottenham's record in all competitions since Matchday 6 is W6 D1 L6. They had won three successive games before suffering their heaviest defeat of the season on Saturday, going down 4-1 at Leicester.

Rodrigo Bentancur had given Spurs the lead at Leicester, his fifth Premier League goal of 2022/23; his previous career best return for a campaign was his two Serie A goals for Juventus in 2018/19.

January signing Porro made his debut at Leicester.

Tottenham had lost three of four Premier League matches (W1) before a 1-0 win at Fulham on 23 January.

Harry Kane scored the only goal at Fulham and also got the winner in a 1-0 home victory against Manchester City on 5 February to become Spurs' record scorer on 267 goals, overtaking the record set by Jimmy Greaves between 1961 and 1970. Greaves made 379 appearances for Spurs; the City game was Kane's 416th Tottenham match.

It was also Kane's 200th Premier League goal; he is only the third player to reach that mark, after Alan Shearer (260 goals) and Wayne Rooney (208).

Kane has scored 17 of Tottenham's 42 goals in this season's Premier League including five of the last 11.

Antonio Conte missed the 1-0 win against City after emergency surgery on his gall bladder. Assistant manager Cristian Stellini took charge.

Conte's side have reached the last 16 of the FA Cup thanks to a 1-0 home win against Portsmouth and a 3-0 victory at Preston on 28 January in which Danjuma marked his debut with the final goal.

Tottenham will visit Sheffield United in the fifth round on 1 March.

Spurs' League Cup campaign was ended by a 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on 9 November in the third round, their first tie in this season's competition.

Cristian Romero appeared in all seven games as Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, starting six including the final.

Hugo Lloris retired from international football after captaining France to the final at Qatar 2022, where he made six appearances to finish his Les Bleus career with 145 caps – three more than previous national record holder Lilian Thuram.

Lloris is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks after suffering a knee injury in the win against Manchester City.

Yves Bissouma missed Saturday's loss at Leicester due to an ankle injury while Ryan Sessegnon was absent with a hamstring problem; Bentancur was replaced in the second half after damaging a knee.

Pape Sarr came on for Bentancur, his first appearance since Spurs' 2-0 home defeat by north London neighbours Arsenal on 15 January due to a hip injury.

Lucas Moura returned to training on 3 February having been sidelined by a calf injury since 12 November. He was an unused substitute at Leicester.