2022-23 UEFA Champions League knockout stage team preview: AC Milan
IN BRIEF
Manager: Stefano Pioli
Group stage performance: 2nd (DWLLWW - vs Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg)
UEFA Champions Leagues/European Cups: 7 (1962/63, 1968/69, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1993/94, 2002/03, 2006/07)
Last season’s performance: Groups
SO FAR…
AC Milan just about made it through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with strong performances against Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg.
The Rossoneri, under the management of Stefano Pioli, managed back-to-back 4-0 victories in their last two games of the groups, having won just one of their opening four matches before that. They suffered a 3-0 loss to group winners Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before losing 2-0 at home to the same opposition in the middle of the groups to put their participation in the knockout stages in serious jeopardy.
They haven’t played in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League since they were beaten by eventual runners’ up Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 of the 2013/14 campaign and they haven’t won a knockout tie since the 2011/12 season against Arsenal.
Their poor start to the group stages of just four points collected in four matches is actually representative of how their season as a whole has gone so far.
WHAT ARE MILAN’S CHANCES IN THE KNOCKOUT STAGES?
The reigning Italian champions have endured a shocking return to Serie A action since the FIFA World Cup and extended winter break. Stefano Pioli’s style of football has been pragmatic and impressive throughout his tenure generally but there have been some serious flaws that have been shown since the restart.
Milan still have a plethora of attacking options such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is continuously recovering from injury, Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao, who is in a contract battle with the club, Ante Rebic, who is out of favour, and Brahim Diaz, who is also well out of favour at San Siro.
The strength in Milan’s side is in midfield with Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer but both have had injury issues throughout the campaign, too.
They do face a fallible and hardly irresistible Tottenham Hotspur side in the knockout stages so their chances of going into the last eight remain good but Tottenham will think the same.
ODDS TO WIN THE 2022-23 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 50/1
Odds used are the best at Oddschecker at the time of writing
