Update: AC Milan 0-0 Barcelona, Final Score
AC Milan are currently keeping a clean sheet against Barcelona, and they're not bad going forward themselves. Some suspected that this marquee UEFA Champions League quarterfinal could turn into a complete mismatch with Thiago Silva and Ignazio Abate on the sidelines injured, but it's gone well so far. Barcelona look like the slightly better side, but Milan are holding their own and will be pleased to go into halftime of the first leg with a 0-0 draw.
The truth is, Milan should have taken the lead in the opening minutes. Robinho had the game's first great chance in the 2nd minute, but he shanked a wide-open volley terribly.
The next 15 minutes or so were all Barcelona, and they probably should have scored. Their first great chance came in the 9th minute, after a terrible AC Milan giveaway. Lionel Messi had a close-range shot, but Christian Abbiati came up with the save. Daniel Alves had a chance to score on the rebound, but his shot was blocked and cleared away.
Barcelona had a massive penalty shout in the 16th minute and they were unlucky not to get it. Alexis Sanchez was brought down by Abbiati as he extended for the ball, but the referee waived play on. The ball was running away from Sanchez and it wasn't denial of a goal scoring opportunity, but Abbiati did make significant contact. Judge for yourself whether or not a penalty should have been given.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a brilliant chance to put his team ahead four minutes later, but couldn't take it. Clarence Seedorf set him up with an absolutely stunning through ball, but Ibrahimovic couldn't hit his shot correctly and put a weak effort directly into the stomach of Victor Valdes.
Barcelona would create a couple more chances before the halftime whistle blew, but was unable to capitalize. Messi set up Xavi Hernandez with a spectacular one-touch give-and-go move in the 26th minute, but Xavi's shot was saved by Abbiati. In the 35th minute, Alexis Sanchez found himself one-on-one with Abbiati after a clearance over the top of the defense turned into a scoring opportunity for the Chilean, but Luca Antonini recovered to make a spectacular last-ditch tackle.
Barca have all of the possession as expected, but it's been a fairly even match. Milan look capable of scoring, and a Barcelona goal seems likely, but certainly not inevitable.
We'll have constant updates during this match in our UEFA Champions League Wednesday StoryStream. For more on the two teams, head over to Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes and The AC Milan Offside.
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