Milan - Tottenham: Psychological test for 'Conte's children'
Over the years, despite being ranked in the top 6 of the Premier League, Tottenham often fell at key moments, requiring the bravery of a big team. That's when they lost the 2014-2015 Confederation Cup final, finished second in the 2016-2017 Premier League, 2018-2019 Champions League, and lost to Man City in the 2020-2021 League Cup final.
In this season's Champions League, Conte's teachers and students share a group with Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille. They ranked first, one point more than Frankfurt, and thus met AC Milan - a medium opponent in the knockout round.
Not only falling compared to when winning Serie A last season, Milan is not in good form. Olivier Giroud scored, helping Stefano Pioli's teachers and students overcome Torino 1-0 last weekend. But it was Milan's first win in the last eight in all competitions.
The Champions League is almost the only arena where Milan still has the opportunity to compete for the title this season. In Serie A, they have dropped to fifth, 18 points behind Napoli after 22 rounds. In the Italian Cup, Milan were eliminated after losing to Torino in the 1/8 round.
What Milan excels at Tottenham is the prestige of the team that won the second most Champions League titles in history with seven times, only behind Real Madrid (14). That pride and the fiery atmosphere at San Siro are the weapons that the Serie A champions can rely on against an opponent who is said to be lacking in age in the fights that require bravery in the knockout round.
When appointed to replace coach Nuno Espirito Santo, Conte is expected to turn Tottenham into a core filter team like his personality. But after more than a year of work, the Italian leader probably understands somewhat the problem that predecessors like Nuno or Mauricio Pochettino encountered. Tottenham could beat Man City 1-0, but soon lost to Leicester 1-4.
During his return to his hometown, encountering a familiar opponent when he was still working at Juventus and Inter, Conte expressed concern about the bravery of his students. He said: "If you want to be in a good position in the Premier League or the Champions League, Tottenham needs to be consistent. We are lacking that. Sometimes the players feel motivated to play, but other times it feels too much. So much pressure that they can't show their ability. They can play well for a while, then suddenly collapse when under too much pressure."
Conte has not fully recovered from gallbladder surgery. He appeared on the Tottenham training ground but was not ready to direct. Previously, Conte had 11 times competed against compatriot Pioli, and was marginally better with seven wins, three draws and only one defeat. In those encounters, Conte usually holds the stronger team. This time, the two coaches have quite balanced forces. But the Milan coach still hinted that Conte's team was stronger.
Pioli said: "The financial strength between the English Premier League teams and the rest is too disparate. I would like to talk more about matters on the pitch but the truth is that they cannot compare to them economically. If the English Premier League clubs are billions of dollars in a transfer window and we didn't spend any money, obviously, the economic gap is too big."
This competition is reminiscent of the match in the 1/8 round of the Champions League 2010-2011. At that time, despite a 0-0 draw in the first leg at home, Peter Crouch's only goal helped Tottenham win the second leg and win tickets to go on.
At the San Siro today, Tottenham will be without the services of Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur due to injury. Along with the absence of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg due to a penalty card, Conte faced a dilemma in the midfield. Center-back Eric Dier can step up instead, but Conte leaves open the possibility of using Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr - a young midfield duo who have never started in the Champions League.
On the Milan side, goalkeepers Mike Maignan and Ismael Bennacer have not recovered from their injuries. But Pioli will welcome the return of Fikayo Tomori and in particular, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be on the bench for the first time since May 2022.
