Tottenham Hotspur secured a priceless and professional 1-0 Champions League win over AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday, thanks to Peter Crouch’s goal.
Ten minutes from the end, Crouch fired home a potentially pivotal away strike after great breakaway play from Aaron Lennon. Harry Redknapp’s men now take a lead back to White Hart Lane after the last 16 first leg clash, in which tempers flared regularly in the second half.
Spurs have been an attacking sensation throughout their European campaign so far and, though the first half would bring no goals, they started in that vein once again as they showed no fear against the old masters of European football. Despite the absence of Gareth Bale they attacked at will, while also looking quite solid at the back and there was certainly no repeat of the first half mauling Inter gave them on the same ground in the group stages.
Alessandro Nesta avoided conceding an early penalty when the ball struck his arm from Steven Pienaar’s cross, with home goalkeeper Christian Abbiati then tested by Crouch, whose header from Vedran Corluka’s cross was saved.
Abbiati had little more to do on the night though, but that was because he soon departed to be replaced by Marco Amelia after sustaining a mystery concussion.
The game carried on with Spurs constantly looking to use the pace of Lennon to unsettle Milan left back Luca Antonini, while Sandro and Wilson Palacios stood up well to old soldiers Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf in midfield. That is not to say that Milan did not look dangerous when they wanted to, Heurelho Gomes having to stretch as the dangerous Zlatan Ibrahimovic whipped in a cross that could have caused all sorts of trouble.
The maverick Sweden international was then wasteful from a 35-yard free-kick, while at the other end the trouble that Crouch had been causing the Milan defence began to subside. Tottenham, of course, have plenty of other threats, few more so than Rafael Van der Vaart, who drew a save from Amelia from range, the ‘keeper having to turn the effort over.
Spurs can definitely claim that they had the better the first half as Robinho sliced an effort well wide for the hosts, the half-time break prompting Massimiliano Allegri to withdraw Seedorf for the exciting Brazilian Alexandre Pato, and the Rossoneri would play a much bigger part in a gripping and fiery second half.
Van der Vaart had the first eye-catching moment. The Dutch ace collected the ball from Lennon and, as the Milan defenders expected him to feed Pienaar wide to the left, he spun around and dinked an exquisite chip only just wide of Amelia’s left-hand post.
At the other end, Colombian defender Mario Yepes did what no Milan striker had yet done and tested Gomes with a powerful flying header from Gattuso's cross. The Spurs goalkeeper was at full stretch as he fingered the ball away to safety, with what was a magnificent save.
Amelia then held a 25-yard Van der Vaart free-kick before tempers flared, stemming initially from former Arsenal man Mathieu Flamini’s poor two-footed tackle on Corluka. The Frenchman was very lucky to receive only a yellow card, but the Croatian had to go off, bringing about the introduction of the lesser-spotted Jonathan Woodgate for his first appearance since 2009.
Soon after Spurs assistant coach Joe Jordan was pushed in the face by a wound-up Gattuso, who was not punished for it leaving him free to get in more scrapes later on.
Yepes brought another save out of Gomes as the home side began to take over on the possession and creativity stakes, Redknapp opting to withdraw Van der Vaart for Luka Modric, both players having been doubts for this game.
Gattuso and Crouch were doing plenty of arguing as the game entered its final 20 minutes, but when the Italian finally got the yellow card his carry-on merited it came for a challenge on Pienaar that may not have been a foul. A booking had been coming for the veteran though, and he is now ruled out of the second leg.
The in-form Niko Kranjcar replaced Pienaar for the last quarter of an hour and, while he was not involved in the goal that followed, his recent status as a lucky charm for Spurs told almost straight away.
It seemed to come out of nothing. Most of the men in white were camped on the edge of their own area as Milan looked for an opener, but possession was seized by Sandro and all of a sudden Lennon was away. Crouch bombed on through the middle as the pace of Lennon exposed the ageing legs of his opponents, before he raced around Yepes and squared for the tall striker to fire to the net.
Redknapp’s side made protecting that away goal their major focus in the time that remained, their cool heads keeping the ball well as the home fans and the home players were beset with frustration.
And yet there was more drama at the death! Robinho was denied a goal before an acrobatic and brilliant Ibrahimovic finish to the net as a result of the corner that followed. However, he was outraged to see that he had been penalised for a foul on the excellent Michael Dawson.
The final whistle sealed a superb result for Spurs, while the crazed Gattuso went for Jordan again. He met yet face more repercussions following a night of dreadful behaviour. The rest of the Milan squad will be charged with turning the tie around in London, but Spurs now have an excellent advantage as their amazing European season continues.