Spurs Through To Final Eight After Scoreless Draw, Advance 1-0 Over Milan

Tottenham Hotspur did what their North London rivals couldn't. Tasked with holding a one goal lead after a first leg, Spurs (like Arsenal) seemed to have adopted prevention as Plan A. But whereas Arsenal's plans went awry, Harry Redknapp's side executed despite some close calls, including a Ronaldinho shot in stoppage time that was feet away from forcing 30 more minutes of football. Instead, Spurs held the same 1-0 lead at 180' that they had after 90 minutes, eliminating AC Milan, 1-0.

Milan was the better side today. Aside from Aaron Lennon's advantage over Marek Jankulovski and Peter Crouch coming close early in the second half, there was little to recommend Tottenham for goal. Instead, Milan had numerous chances for an equalizer, be they Zlatan Ibrahimovic from a dead ball, Robinho being set up by his towering trequartista, or Pato threatening from the right, Milan seemed to have a cast of potential goal scorers.

Yet Spurs, having few players with Champions League experience, were able to hold their venerable opponents at bay. William Gallas, one of those Spurs with experience at this stage of the competition, made the most valuable single contribution, saving a Robinho shot off the line in the first half, after which, Spurs seemed to slowly exert more control on the affair. By the second half, the teams were playing a more even match, albeit with drastically different goals.

Milan's last grasp came in stoppage time, when Robinho played a ball in from the right to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swede with his back to goal. The Swede laid the ball off to his left for Robinho, looping in from his wide position. His first-timed ball from 18 yards out went two feel above the crossbar. Had he got it on frame, it would be been almost impossible for Gomes to stop.

But with that miss went Milan's last chance, with the Rossoneri again seen out of the competition at the Round of 16. Last year, they were routed in Manchester. This year, they could never craft a goal in North London. As such, Spurs' maiden voyage in Champions League continues into the quarterfinals.

Vedran Corluka looks fit enough to at least stay on the pitch, which means Spurs will be able to finish the match with eleven men ten men and a giant named 'Sandro'. Meanwhile, AC Milan make their last throw of the dice, Rodney Strasser coming on while Mathieu Flamini wanders off to a chorus of boos and some rather harsh words from the home fans. Thoroughly deserved harsh words, though, after some thuggish behaviour from the French midfielder over both legs of the contest.

We're into stoppage time now, of which there will be three minutes. Not long, then, for Spurs to survive, and with Milan's attack rather blunted in the second half the Champions League dream looks like it will be continuing for Tottenham unless something magical happens for Milan. Robinho very nearly provided that after a neat interchange with Ibrahimovic, but the Brazilian's effort was deflected (just) over the bar for a corner.

This Alexandre Pato fellow is quite good, you know. The Brazilian striker just gave White Hart Lane a collective heart attack by wiggling free of the Spurs defence on the edge of the area to pick up the ball and smack in a shot on the half volley, easily beating Heurelhio Gomes and buzzing the side netting. Half the ground thought the ball was in, but fortunately for the home side it was maybe a foot wide of being the equaliser. It was a very good effort, but Milan are going to have to do better than that to level up the score and take the game to extra time.

Alexander Merkel's been very impressive since he came on, and the substitutions seem to be working pretty well for Massimiliano Allegri's side, with Milan enjoying their best spell of the half.  The atmosphere is pretty nervous as the visitors probe the home defence looking for another opening. With ten minutes to go, it's stressful times for the Tottenham defence. Peter Crouch has now been withdrawn for Roman Pavlyuchenko, presumably with the idea that the Russian's fresh legs can stretch the Milan back line.

Thirty seconds later, and Vedran Corluka is down with an ankle injury - with all three Tottenham substitutes used. Hmm.

Subsitutions for both teams now as AC Milan's Luca Antonini comes on for defender Marek Jankulovski, who had picked up a yellow card earlier in the second half for a foul on Aaron Lennon. Youngster Alexander Merkel is also on for Kevin-Prince Boateng, who had been looking rather tired after working very hard all match. Meanwhile Steven Pienaar had been replaced by Jermaine Jenas as Tottenham switch to a 4-5-1 in an attempt to protect their lead. With Lennon on the right and Gareth Bale on the other, Spurs should still be able to threaten even with a more defensively-oriented midfield.

There are just about fifteen minutes left for Milan to try to get a goal, but they've looked nowhere near as effective in this half - where they were once destroying Tottenham they're pounding rather uselessly against the back four, with Ibrahimovic in particular disappointing. If the home side can hang on, they're into the quarter finals.

Mathieu Flamini, who most would argue shouldn't even be on the pitch for this match after his nasty tackle on Vedran Corluka in the first leg, has just picked up a yellow card for a... rather nasty take on Benoit Assou-Ekotto. This one was never a red card, though - merely a one footed lunge which could have caused the left back some damage. Assou-Ekotto is rather nimbler than Corluka, however, and was able to avoid the brunt of the tackle. The yellow card means that Flamini is suspended for AC Milan's next match, should the manage to progress here.

Off the free kick, Alexandre Pato was booked for encroachment, but Milan were able to clear. Within a few minutes, they nearly had a goal after Gomes made an appalling clearance and then completely failed to deal with a cross, leaving the ball free at the feet of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and several defenders with Gomes squirming helplessly on the ground. The ball eventually went behind for a goalkick, but that was a nervy moment for the Spurs defence.

Oh, and Gareth Bale is on the pitch, replacing Rafael van der Vaart. Things could get really rather interesting now...

Tottenham's major problem in the first half was their complete and total inability to get the ball to Aaron Lennon in an attacking position. That doesn't appear to be the case in the second half - it looks as thought Harry Redknapp has freed the winger from his defensive duties and pushed him very high up the pitch, leaving him as an outlet for the home side's long passes out of defence. As a result, he's getting the ball a lot more and is absolutely brutalising the AC Milan defence on that side, sending in cross after cross towards the hulking figure of Peter Crouch at the far post.

Marek Jankulovski's already booked for pulling down the little winger, and Clarence Seedorf may have committed a handball in the box as he attempted to clear Lennon's latest delivery, although it would have been a harsh penalty if given. While there hasn't been a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity since very early in the half, it's looking a lot better for Tottenham than it did, giving the Spurs defence some breathing room after being under the cosh in the first half.

He's got good feet for a big man, Peter Crouch, but he sure has a rather silly head on him. Aaron Lennon and Sandro combine down the right flank soon after the referee gets the match going away, and with the Milan defence trying to peel off to catch Crouch offside - and failing - the striker found himself with a free header four yards out at the far post. Inexplicably, he opted to nod across the area rather than turn his header on goal, and with nobody in support the chance is totally wasted. Foolish move by Crouch, since a goal here would force Milan to get two in 40 minutes in order to stay in the competition.

After the requisite Milan attack in reply, Lennon tried to break down the wing once more, but was cut off by Marek Jankulovski, the defender picking up a yellow card for his troubles, the first booking of the game. It's promising from Tottenham, who didn't play anywhere near the required level in the first half. Can they build on their start to the second?

With a 1-0 lead from the previous leg in Italy, it's not as though Harry Redknapp will be particularly angry with a 0-0 scoreline at half time, but things still don't look great for Tottenham, who are being played off the pitch by AC Milan. Spurs centreback William Gallas is the only reason the scores are still level, incidentally, having cleared a deflected Robinho shot off the goal line with keeper Heurelhio Gomes completely out of the picture. The match has been a fry cry from the first leg in Milan, where Tottenham were completely comfortable for the first 45 minutes - while they started relatively strongly here that spark died out after the first ten minutes, and the further we've progressed into the match the more the visitors have dominated play.

Tottenham simply need to control the ball better, and either keep possession or release their front men far quicker. Aaron Lennon's speed is only a factor if he actually gets the ball, and Peter Crouch's height hasn't really shown whenever Spurs have been able to swing crosses in. Milan, on the other hand, are hugely impressive, and the skill and movement of the front three of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato, and Robinho is simply proviing too much for Spurs to deal with at the moment. Still, the Rossoneri need to score, and they haven't done that yet.

In the previous match in this Champions League tie, Tottenham defeated AC Milan away from home by using their speed to dominate the wings and some midfield steel to nullify their hosts' passing display. Most of all, though, they used Aaron Lennon to stretch the right and Peter Crouch to win the ball in the air, and that's just not happening at all today.

Lennon simply isn't receving possession in dangerous areas. He's being forced to defend thanks to Vedran Corluka's inability to really deal with any of Milan's attacking trident, and so whenever he picks up the ball he's very, very deep and unable to surge forwards. Meanwhile, Crouch, who had been dangerous in the air in the early stages, hasn't won a ball without fouling his defender in the process in at least fifteen minutes. Plan A isn't just isn't working for Spurs so far. Massimiliano Allegri, on the other hand, will be delighted - it seems like just a matter of time until his side are level with Tottenham on aggregate.

As the game goes on, it's becoming more and more one-sided. Tottenham can't get the ball and they appear mostly incapable of dealing with Milan's front three of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato, and Robinho. Milan's latest attack saw them run through the Spurs defence like it wasn't there, with Pato drawing a good save from Heurelhio Gomes - fortunately for the home side a white shirt got to the rebound before one of the Rossoneri could pounce.

The home faithful at White Hart Lane aren't exactly having the best day so far - one suspects that following their win at the San Siro they were expecting their side to steamroll poor Milan, and that's certainly not happening right now. Milan are controlling the midfield and getting it to their forwards very well, while Spurs seem to be relying mainly on long balls directed to Peter Crouch and thirty-yard shots from Rafael van der Vaart. It's not going so well so far.

Tottenham still have their 1-0 aggregate lead, but they have William Gallas to thank for that, the French centre back clearing off the line for Spurs after Alexandre Pato turned the back line - and Heurelhio Gomes - inside out after bursting onto a long ball. Gallas was unable to keep up with the pace of the forward, and Gomes came out to challenge only to see Pato skip around him like he wasn't there, leaving the net almost completely unguarded.

Pato was able to square the ball to Robinho, but Benoit Assou-Ekotto got a sliding tackle in, putting off the striker to the point where he completely mis-hit his shot, which ended up looping off Assou-Ekotto's should and heading for goal anyway. That is, until Gallas intervened. As soon as he knew that Pato was getting by him, Gallas sprinted to cover the net, and was able to make an acrobatic clearance just before the ball crossed the line. A very, very close call. Harry Redknapp has responded to his side looking second best by warming up Gareth Bale.

When Tottenham break, they break pretty quickly, and AC Milan aren't defending in the sort of numbers really needed to keep them out. With their front three more or less disinterested in doing any defending, the defence is having to do a lot of heavy lifting and nearly made a bad mistake when an attempted clearance by Alessandro Nesta only fell to Rafael van der Vaart on the edge of the box - Nesta made up for his error by quickly charging down the resultant volley, which was deflected behind for a (wasted) corner.

Minutes later and the ball was up the other end of the pitch, Kevin-Prince Boateng once again drawing a foul. The cross was swung in, Peter Crouch and Heurelhio Gomes got a bit confused, and with the Tottenham penalty box in chaos, the ball eventually fell to Alexandre Pato, only for the Brazilian's first touch to escape him and allowing Gomes to collect. Spurs are looking dangerous on the counterattack but on defence they're not doing much more than hanging on.

Time for a decent spell from the visitors, as AC Milan make their attacking presence known against Tottenham. Working the ball down their right wing via the silky feet of Robinho, they had managed to win a free kick right by the corner flag, from which Alexandre Pato failed to clear the first man - a bit of a waste there. Milan continue to press but eventually gave up possession when they were caught offside. Oh, and if you're hearing some boos, you know that Mathieu Flamini is on the ball. Ex-Arsenal players who injure Vedran Corluka are not often welcome at White Hart Lane.

Later, Kevin-Prince Boateng managed to earn another free kick after Sandro stepped on his foot, which led to the first save of the match - Zlatan Ibrahimovic smacked a 35 yard shot in that Heurelhio Gomes was just about equal to, pushing the ball behind for a corner. Boateng drew another save from Pato's delivery, but the move was called off for a foul anyway. Right now Milan are in the ascendancy, but in a game like this things can change in a heartbeat.

Peter Crouch is already causing the AC Milan back line major issues with his height, and he's had a reasonable penalty shout turned down after being prevented from jumping by Ignazio Abate when he tried to meet a cross. He still managed to make contact with the ball, knocking it back down into the centre, where Christian Abiati and Rafael van der Vaart clashed for the ball, resulting in the goalkeeper taking a kick in the face from Tottenham's Dutch playmaker. If this all sounds like a repeat of the first leg, well, it is.

At the other end of the pitch, Alexandre Pato ripped through the Spurs defence to send in a cross of his own, but while the ball managed to make it through into some dangerous positions in front of Huerelhio Gomes' goal, there were no red shirts able to meet it. Right now we've got an immensely open game - both teams are attacking in numbers making transitions very exciting.

It's game on at White Hart Lane, as AC Milan in their traditional red and black shirts get us started, with Tottenham wearing their home whites. The first action of the match is Zlatan Ibrahimovich being caught offside, followed up by Spurs making slow progress down the right flank. Neither side's pressing looks that impressive early on, which means we're seeing fairly long spells of possession from both teams, which have resulted in half-chances for both Rafael van der Vaart and Ibrahimovich.

First, Steven Pienaar sent a diagonal ball to van der Vaart, who managed to get a shot off from range despite pressure from Tiago Silva, but it flew well wide of Christian Abiati's near post. Then, Ibrahimovic was in a similar position when the ball was nicked off his feet by Michael Dawson. It's been an enterprising opening so far from both sides in London - there are definitely goals in this match.

Vedran Corluka is a surprise inclusion in Harry Redknapp's Tottenham Hotspur squad to face AC Milan at White Hart Lane, the Croatian fit to start following an ankle injury sustained in the first leg when Mathieu Flamini hit him with one of the worst tackles you're likely to see this year. This means that there'll be no Alan Hutton tormenting the poor Spurs fans, which surely is a bit of a relief when faced with a Milan lineup that includes all-world attackers Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato, and Robinho.

Unfortunately, there's also be no Gareth Bale around to cause Milan's creaky defence problems, at least that the beginning of the match - the Welsh winger is only fit enough to make the bench. Steven Pienaar will instead make the start on the left, with Aaron Lennon on the opposite flank. Luka Modric and Sandro will man the centre, and after Sandro's magnificent display in the first leg Tottenham will have high hopes of shutting down AC Milan's midfield with that pairing.

Up front, goalscorer Peter Crouch leads the line, with Rafael van der Vaart just behind him. The 4-4-1-1 Redknapp is deploying should have the speed and strength to batter down the Milan defence, but there's always going to be a worry that Tottenham's own back line could be breached by Milan's glittering array of attacking stars.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-1-1): Gomes; Assou-Ekotto, Gallas, Dawson, Corluka; Pienaar, Modric, Sandro, Lennon; Van der Vaart; Crouch

Subs: Cudicini, Hutton, Bale, Jenas, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, King.

The lineups are out for today's match at White Hart Lane, where AC Milan will try to turn around a 1-0 deficit and advance to the Champions League quarterfinals over Tottenham Hotspur. With Massimiliano Allegri's starting XI just announced, we see that they'll do so with few surprises in their squad. With injuries forcing the coach's hands in midfield, the team was not difficult to predict.

At the back, Christian Abbiati will be protected by a defense of (right-to-left) Ignazio Abate, Alessandro Nesta, Thiago Silva, and Marek jankulovski. In midfield, Mathieu Flamini and Clarence Seedorf join Kevin Prince Boateng, who until recently was a doubt with an ankle problem. Up top, Allegri's choices were also restricted, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, and Alexandre Pato forming the obvious trio.

On the bench there are no surprises, though it is noteworthy that Luca Antonini has been selected. The defender was a injury doubt coming into today's match.

Starting XI: Abbiati / Abate, Nesta, Silva, Jankulovski / Boateng, Seedorf, Flamini / Pato, Ibrahimovic, Robinho

Bench: Amelia, Strasser, Papastathopoulos, Oddo, Merkel, Yepes, Antonini

Tottenham Hotspur fans thought that they had seen the last of right back Alan Hutton for a long time after the Scottish defender had a falling out with Harry Redknapp several weeks ago, but thanks to Vedran Corluka's ankle injury caused by a wayward Mathieu Flamini tackle, he's back. SB Nation's Tottenham blog Cartilage Free Captain is none too pleased about his return, either, wondering whether he's such a poor player that Spurs would be better off playing someone else out of position at right back for tonight's crucial Champions League match against AC Milan. Some of the alternative options, according to CFC:

A hobbling, not 90 minutes fit Vedran Corluka

If Corluka is currently bipedal, this is a better option than Hutton.

William Gallas at right back, Sebastian Bassong at left central defense, Michael Dawson at right central defense

Gallas played well at right back after Corluka went off injured in the first leg of this tie, and he's played it for Arsenal in a serious pinch. I don't think we need a right back to bomb forward and put in crosses since we'll probably be a bit defensive minded. Plus, Hutton's crosses suck anyway.

Why do I get the feeling that there's some trepidation about Hutton facing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho at White Hart Lane amongst Spurs fans? It's not all bad for Tottenham, though - at least Hutton won't have to contend with Gareth Bale, a prospect that's probably given Milan right back Ignazio Abate nightmares.

Kevin Prince-Boateng had been a doubt throughout the week after the Ghanian midfielder was removed at halftime from AC Milan's Saturday match at Juventus. Boateng was kicked by Felipe Melo as the Brazilian followed-through on a first half shot. With Massimiliano Allegri already missing Gennaro Gattuso (suspension), Mark van Bommel (cup tied), Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini (injuries) Prince's fitness is vital.

Today, Milanistas can take some solace in Boateng's expected return. Per the club's website, Prince went through full training yesterday prior to the team's flight to London. Today, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Boateng is expected to start in a wide midfield role, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato comprising Allegri's attack.

In the midfield along with Boateng, Allegri is likely to choose Clarence Seedorf and Mathieu Flamini, though moving Thiago Silva into midfield is another option. Alexander Merkel is also an option, as is the forgotten Rodney Strasser.

Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 match against AC Milan was rather marred by a series of nasty incidents - mostly caused by the hosts, who were rather unhappy to be losing at home to a side without its two best players. We all remember the Gennaro Gattuso headbutt on Joe Jordan, but lost in the controversy of Milan's captain committing an assault on a 59 year-old man was the horrific lunge by midfielder Mathieu Flamini on Spurs right back Vedran Corluka, from which the right back has still not recovered. The ex-Arsenal man has now added that he doesn't believe he did anything wrong:

People can say what they want but I went for the ball. I'm sorry he got injured, but I don't have any regrets.

Football is a physical game and sometimes things like that can happen. I went to the dressing room after and apologised, what more can I do?

Well, since he apologised, everything is now hunky-dory. Did you know that apologies have magical healing powers and that Corluka is now fully fit? His ankle is totally fine now, right? Right? What more could you do, Mathieu? You could think, hey, maybe going in two footed in the air on someone isn't a very good idea as it's a) illegal and thus not going to win the ball and b) how the opposition player gets hurt. Call me crazy, but I think some introspection would be a good idea here.

Tottenham Hotspur have every reason to feel confident ahead of tonight's Champions League match at White Hart Lane. They earned a valuable away goal in their 1-0 win over AC Milan three weeks ago, Rafael van der Vaart is now fit, and Gareth Bale returned to action on Sunday against Wolves. Spurs might be facing a team that includes Zlatan Ibrahimović, Robinho and Alexandre Pato, but they've got the man Fabio Capello himself calls, "the number one player in the world in his position." The hype around the Welsh Messi may occasionally stretch to hyperbole, but it's hard to argue that Bale is not one of the top left-sided players in the world right now.

The question is, will he see playing time? Bale came on to play the last 20 minutes on Sunday, but Harry Rednapp has promised not to play him if he's not 100%. However, Rednapp has said that he'll leave the decision up to Bale himself, and it seems highly unlikely that the winger will let this opportunity pass him by.