EUROPA LEAGUE LAST-16 PLACE SEALED

Tougher than we predicted but we are through. It was a game of twists and turns at Roazhon Park as it ended 3-2 to Stade Rennais on the night, which was enough for the Rossoneri to book their spot in the Europa League last 16 on aggregate following a 3-0 win in the first leg. Bourigeaud scored a hat-trick (two penalties), while AC Milan's goals came from Jović to make it 11 and Leão to make it 2-2. From the 68th minute, when the hosts made it 3-2, the Rossoneri had to dig deep to withstand the storm from the Breton outfit, who then didn't manage to add to the score. The defence held firm in the final half an hour, during which AC Milan struggled to break out.

We've made it through on a difficult night and dealt with the raucous atmosphere, though we'd be remiss not to mention that it was a defeat on the night. Let's enjoy the goals from Luka - his first in Europe for the Club - and Rafa, which were emblematic of this team's never-say-die attitude, one of the positives from this European away day. The three goals conceded, after the four in Monza, will be a cause for reflection for the boys in the coming days, especially with a game against Atalanta at San Siro coming up this Sunday. Following two straight defeats, the boys will need to bounce back.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM STADE RENNAIS v AC MILAN

MATCH REPORT
As expected, the game started off at a frantic pace, with Stade Rennais very forward-thinking but leaving plenty of space open at the back. Inside two minutes, Rafa looked to immediately capitalise on the home side’s aggressive start; he drove forward on the break, but his effort was blocked by Mandanda. It was Leão again in a similar situation after seven minutes, but this time it was Theate who made a desperate sliding tackle. Stade Rennais had their first real attempt on goal in the 11th minute, and it resulted in them taking the lead, as Bourigeaud, from the edge of the area, fired home into the bottom corner with a cleanly-struck righted shot. AC Milan once again carved an opening down the left on 17 minutes, with Theo finding Pulisic in the area, who couldn’t find the target. Theate, two minutes later, stopped Bennacer’s well-drilled effort with his head, before a well-deserved Rossoneri equaliser eventually came in the 22nd minute: Tijj playing the ball out wide for Theo, whose perfect cross found Jović and he could make no mistake with his header, 1-1. The home side weren’t flustered though and put the pressure back on the visitors, and after 27 minutes Maignan made an outstanding instinctive save to deny Kalimuendo. Just after the half-hour mark, Kjær carried out a carbon-copy defensive header as Theate had done a few minutes earlier, stopping Gouiri’s powerful left-footed hit with his head.

The second half opened up in a similar fashion to the first, with Stade Rennais forcing the play but the Rossoneri having the first chance: Leão’s right-footed effort once again saved by Mandanda like in the second minute of the game. And just like in the first 45 minutes, the French side went back ahead through Bourigeaud, who tucked home a penalty in the 54th minute after Kjær had deemed to have fouled Terrier. But our leveller arrived just four minutes later: in the 58th minute, a superb piece of individual play by Rafa came from him picking up a ball in midfield, going on one of his trademark runs, rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-2. There was another penalty awarded for the French team in the 68th minute, from Jović’s handball, and from the spot up-stepped Bourigeaud again to send Maignan the wrong way and grab a hat-trick: 3-2 Stade Rennais. The home side suddenly found more belief as we had to dig in and soak up some pressure, while struggling to counter despite Loftus, Okafor and Chukwueze coming on as subs. Salah and Matusiwa both tried their luck from distance, but in both cases Mike was up to the challenge. The closing stages failed to produce any serious danger and qualification was never really in doubt: AC Milan in the round of 16!

MATCH DETAILS

STADE RENNAIS 3-2 AC MILAN

STADE RENNAIS (4-3-3): Mandanda; G. Douè (57' Matusiwa), Omari, Theate, Truffert; Bourigeaud, Santamaria (57' Seidu), D. Douè (72' Blas); Gouiri (84' Yildirim), Terrier (72' Salah), Kalimuendo. Subs.: Gallon, Lembet; Belocian, Wooh; Cissé; Lambourde. Coach: Stéphan.

AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi (84' Terracciano), Kjær, Gabbia, Hernández; Reijnders, Bennacer (62' Loftus-Cheek); Pulisic (62' Chukwueze), Musah (80' Thiaw), Leão (62' Okafor); Jović. Subs.: Mirante, Sportiello; Bartesaghi, Nsiala; Adli, Victor; Giroud. Coach: Pioli. 

Referee: Pinheiro (POR).
Goal: 12' Bourigeaud (R), 22' Jović (M), 54' pen. Bourigeaud (R), 58' Leão (M), 68' pen. Bourigeaud (R).
Booked: 54' Kjær (M), 69' Gouiri (R), 79' Maignan (M).

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