Wednesday September 28, 2011 Group Stage: Group H Finished Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

AC Milan 2 - 0 Viktoria Plzen

  • Ibrahimovic 53’ (pen.)
  • Cassano 66’

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  1. Milan ease to win over Viktoria

    Milan ease to win over Viktoria

    Milan comfortably won 2-0 in their Champions League Group H clash against Viktoria Plzen at the San Siro. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • AC Milan
    • Viktoria Plzen
    • 90+3' Full time. A deserved win for Milan but Plzen impressed in defeat. Their second game with BATE could well be a crucial one with Europa League football on the line. But with Barcelona winning 5-0 (Villa with the last goal), it looks like it'll take a miracle to prevent the Spanish and Italian reps from advancing to the knockout stages.
    • 90+2' Brystron with an excellent sliding challenge in the area to deny Cassano a chance at a second.
    • 90+1 Kolar is taken off in our final switch, replaced by Vladimir Darida.
    • 90' Milan win a corner and pass it all the way back to their own half just to eat up these remaining few seconds.
    • 89' The youngster's first senior touch is a crucial header to clear a decent Horvarth cross.
    • 88' Abate is replaced by Mattia De Sciglio, an 18 year old making his senior debut.
    • 87' Aquilani gives away the ball allowing Plzen to move towards the box with plenty of space, but Kolar shoots early and Abbiati has it covered.
    • 85' Fillo whips in a cross from the right as the visitors keep the pressure up, but it's headed clear before Ibrahimovic goes to ground rather easily in losing out on the second ball.
    • 84' Plzen win a corner which is again taken short before the cross is met at the near post by DURIS! How did he not bury that? Let it fall to his feet when a header would surely have been converted from that range.
    • 83' Horvath's cross from deep fools Abbiati into coming out of goal allowing Duris to head towards goal, only to mis-aim and see it go wide.
    • 82' Abate fouls Fillo on the left, and the free-kick is taken quick and short leading to a great move of short passes before Van Bommel cuts out the attack inside his own area.
    • 80' An away free kick is sent towards the far post. Cisovsky headers it back towards goal but the defenders get their act back together enough to have it away.
    • 79' Aquilani is a bit too luxury in his final ball attempt after being fed inside the box by fellow sub Taiwo. It allows Plzen to clear.
    • 78' Here comes another home sub, but it's Antonini. He's replaced by Taiwo in a like-for-like.
    • 77' Well. To make matters worse on Nocerino, Fillo makes an early mark on the game by completely mowing the midfielder down. Free-kick.
    • 76' Nocerino was down with cramp just now, but for the time being remains on the pitch.
    • 75' Pilar makes way for Martin Fillo. He scored a golazo against Copenhagen in the playoffs, helping his side to make it this far.
    • Cassano dinks one over the defence looking for Ibrahimovic, who looked set to lob the outrushing Cech but for the interception of Brystron.
    • 73' Milan surge forward again and it's Rajtoral who comes inside to end the move.
    • 72' A good shift from the most decorated player in the competition's history. Job appears to be done, rest fully reserved.
    • 70' Seedorf delivers the armband to Nesta, as he's coming off to be replaced by Aquilani.
    • 69' Rajtoral, arguably Plzen's best player so far, covers a good 40 yards to atone for a cheap giveaway and prevent Seedorf's centre attempt at the expense of a corner.
    • 68' Bakos has been replaced by fellow striker Michal Duris.
    • 67' A cool finish from Cassano after a great play out of nowhere between the strike pairing. Should be the game now.
    • 66' Ibrahimovic takes down a long pass upfield with a classy first touch, turns and puts through CASSANO! 2-0!
    • 65' Seedorf heads the free-kick from the right wing clear.
    • 64' Nocerino fouls Kolar. Kolar and the rest of the Czech side are getting a little peeved with the lack of a single yellow card for the home side to their own four...
    • 64' Ibrahimovic beats two defenders but tries to do too much himself and is snuffed out by the numbers game.
    • 62' Messi has his second, Barca have four. The two giants of the group are in the drivers seat as things stand.
    • 61' Seedorf has an effort inside the box blocked.
    • 60' Now here come Plzen. Petrzela's cross is a good one and Abbiati has to punch away the danger. Vital intervention at that. It's not away though and Horvath shoots low! Saved by the keeper.
    • 59' Milan break forward and Seedorf is through off Ibra's lobbed ball forward. He volleys it first time to set up Cassano beside him... but the shot is over the bar.
    • 58' Nesta slides in and concedes a free-kick just inside the Milan half. Again, the hosts get away without a yellow card.
    • 57' Cisovsky clears Cassano's cross before Nocerino handballs to relieve the pressure on Plzen.
    • 56' ... but though the card comes out of the ref's pocket, it's for the goalkeeper Cech for dissent.
    • 55' Ibrahimovic pulls back his marker after losing possession to him. Should have been a yellow, really....
    • 54' It's been a great performance after a 4-game absence from the striker, and he has now opened the scoring from 12 yards.
    • 53' Ibrahimovic will take it. We have a bit of a delay as the ball isn't on the spot properly... here we go............................... SCORES! 1-0!
    • 52' Good flick by Ibrahimovic to turn towards goal and it hits the hand of a defender. The referee points to the spot! Penalty to Milan!
    • 51' Seedorf floats in a cross from the left, but no red and black shirts are there to get onto it.
    • 50' Horvath squanders a decent passage from his side by going for goal first time instead of continuing the passing sequence. It's one for Row Z.
    • 49' Milan get it into the Plzen area once more but Cassano foolishly lets the opportunity slip by having a pull of his marker's shorts whilst holding up play in the box with his back to goal.
    • 47' Cisovsky rides his luck with a foul on Seedorf. The centre-back has already been booked. Milan work it forward from the free kick and Emanuelson will have a chance! Over the bar. Was crying out for a disciplined low drive there, from the edge of the area.
    • 46' The second half is underway.
    • 45+1' We get mere seconds of added time before the half-time whistle is blown. A good first half and a spirited performance from the underdogs. Can they last?
    • 45' A third yellow in the first half for Plzen. The skipper Horvath is the man penalised for a high foot on Cassano though he had his eyes on the ball at all times on that one. The harshest of the three bookings.
    • 44' A low Seedorf centre from the left flashes across goal. Nobody is able to get a touch on it to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.
    • 43' Petrzela goes into the book for a deliberate handball.
    • 41' Plzen treat us to a true rare fight in modern football: a foul throw. It was in an advanced position, too. Naive way to surrender possession.
    • 40' A certain Mr. Messi has made it 0-3 for Barca against BATE. Assuming we don't have the comeback of the century over there tonight, whoever wins this clash at the San Siro will join the champs in a very comfortable three-point cushion on the right side of the qualification line tonight.
    • 39' Plzen get their first real move in the last few minutes of Rosseneri onslaught. Bakos tees up Horvath! How did he miss that? Off target from a great position. Could have been 0-1.
    • 38' Antonini races clear into the box from the left. But the flag goes up. Didn't look offside at all, to be honest.
    • 37' Scratch that. Here come Milan again. Ibra shoots again, and Cech stops it again. Both striker and keeper are standing out at the moment.
    • 36' ...Bystron clears an Ibrahimovic cross as things settle down a little.
    • 35' On three occasions Milan surge forward but Plzen's defence deals with the threat. They're not able to win back possession though. The home possession continues...
    • 34' Bakos wanders offside, preventing a move at the other end.
    • 33' Ibra climbs on his marker for the set piece, ending the attack with a free-kick to Plzen.
    • 32' Abate makes a fool of the left back, his cross misses Cassano but lands with Ibrahimovic at the far post.... WHAT A REFLEX SAVE FROM CECH! Corner coming up.
    • 30' Ibrahimovic and Abate hustle on the right to create something, but the defending is good. On the break, Jiracek's effort goes wide. He was given a lot of space for that one.
    • 29' Seedorf once again cuts out the early stages of a Plzen passage.
    • 28' Petrzela's cross from the right is easy for Abbiati.
    • 27' Plzen string a good 9-10 passes together before a long distance drive from Bakos is closed down.
    • 25' Cisovsky gets the game's first yellow for a foul from which the referee really should have allowed the home side to play advantage. They're not happy that he didn't.
    • 24' Nocerino fouls Pilar on Milan's right wing, giving away a defensive free-kick.
    • 23' An own goal and one from Pedro, both in the space of three minutes, have put European champions Barcelona two up at BATE Borisov in the other Group H game tonight.
    • 22' Plzen attempt to play it out of their own danger zone and pass it straight to Cassano, whose shot goes right into the waiting arms of Cech.
    • 21' Rajtoral intercepts a Cassano ball which was going to the feet of a well-positioned Seedorf.
    • 20' The corner is overhit and Bystron needlessly fouls Van Bommel as the Dutchman attempts to clear his lines.
    • 19' Rajtoral slips the ball into the box at the feet of Jiracek. The eventual shot earns the visitors a corner.
    • 18' Cassano is caught offside attempting to latch onto an early cross. He is looking to score his first CL goal in 7 years tonight. Obviously a lot of that was spent on the outside looking in.
    • 17' The corner is taken short and squared to Jiracek, whose 25-yarder goes nowhere near the target.
    • 16' Rajtoral wins a corner off Antonini. This has been a very watchable opening quarter of an hour. Both sides are trying to create here.
    • 15' Clever chipped diagonal pass by Cassano to pick out Ibrahimovic but his marker stays strong to prevent a header which, from that range, would have been difficult to keep out.
    • 14' Thiago Silva clears a Rajtoral cross.
    • 13' The corner's taken short and Abate's eventual delivery is headed off target by Van Bommel.
    • 12' Another corner for the home side after Limbersky slides in to cut out Ibra's run down the right.
    • 11' Cassano forces Cech to parry one behind for a corner. Nobody tries to say this one was a goal kick. Plzen defend the set piece as well as a couple of secondary waves of heavy Milan pressure.
    • 10' The forward then has space to take on his man inside the 'D', but instead tries to play Cassano in with a short pass which is well intercepted.
    • 9' Ibrahimovic times his run superbly to latch onto a ball over the back line, but cannot bring it down and it bounces off for a goal kick.
    • 8' Seedorf shows exactly what the Plzen coach was fearful of by snuffing out a counter attack before it can really begin.
    • 6' Plzen go for another attack. They're showing no fear whatsoever so far, but they trigger the offside flag.
    • 5' Now Milan attack. CASSANO! Saved by the legs of Cech at point blank! Great run forward from the right-hand side of the area by Ibrahimovic before pulling back for his strike partner.
    • 4' What are the point of the two extra referees again? Clearly touched the fingertips of the stopper. Nesta was very slow to react for that as well. He's 35 now.
    • 3' But now it's the visitors forward. Pilar beats his man on the left and whips in a good centre...BAKOS WITH THE HEADER! Great tip around the far post by Abbiati! But the touchline official deems it a goal kick?
    • 2' Cech gets an early chance to ease into the game with a routine catch from an Abate cross.
    • 1' We're underway in Milan!
    • 19:40 The teams are making their way through the tunnel and out onto the San Siro pitch - live match updates are next!
    • 19:35 Match odds: Milan 3/10, Viktoria Plzen 10/1, draw 4/1.
    • 19:30 For the hosts, Ibrahimovic is passed fit to start. Bonera wasn't so lucky, he only gets as far as the bench. Clarence Seedorf, the man Plzen boss Pavel Vrba identifies as the Rossoneri's biggest threat, also features in the starting XI.
    • 19:25 Don't panic, Milan fans. Plzen haven't found a way of drafting in Chelsea's Petr Cech. Between the sticks tonight is Marek (not the Slovakian defender), to make his second appearance for his new club after joining in the summer.
    • 19:20 TEAMS - AC Milan: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini, Van Bommel, Nocerino, Seedorf, Emanuelson, Cassano, Ibrahimovic. Subs: Amelia, Taiwo, Aquilani, Bonera, De Sciglio, Ganz, Yepes. /// Plzen: Cech, Rajtoral, Bystron, Cisovski, Limbersky, Jiracek, Horvath, Kolar, Petrzela, Pilar, Bakos. Subs: Pavlik, Duris, Trapp, Fillo, Reznik, Sevinsky, Darida
    • 19:15 However, Milan have only won two of their last 14 Champions League games, both against Auxerre. Will the competition new boys extend that barren run?
    • 19:10 Milan have won every home game against Czech sides in European competition, defeating Sparta Prague three times and Slovan Liberec once. The latter are the only side in the country with a victory over the Italian giants, a home win in 2002/03.
    • 19:05 Viktoria coach Pavel Vrba: "I've watched four of Milan's games, against Napoli and Udinese in particular, and I have garnered some ideas and inspiration. Naturally, we don't underestimate anyone. This is an important moment in our season. This game will have an important influence on my players, especially their futures. It will be a great occasion for them."
    • 19:00 Allegri on tonight's game: "It won't be easy. We have watched Viktoria's play-off games and they are a well-organised team, with quality players on the counterattack. We should be wary at the back and can't afford to underestimate them; nothing in football is simple these days. "
    • 18:55 Meanwhile, the one big injury for the Czech underdogs is goalkeeper Roman Pavlik, who isn't expected to return from his knee injury tonight.
    • 18:50 In early team news, the absentees are piling high for Milan coach Massimilliano Allegri. Pato, Robinho, Boateng and Mexes all miss out through injury, while we await news on whether Ibrahimovic and Bonera passed late fitness tests.
    • 18:45 Good evening and welcome - the countdown to Milan v Viktoria Plzen has begun!
    • - Welcome to our LIVE coverage of Milan's match against Viktoria Plzen. Kick-off is at 19:45 UK time, but we'll be here from an hour beforehand with all the team news and pre-match build up.

  • Summary

    • 84' Plzen win a corner which is again taken short before the cross is met at the near post by DURIS! How did he not bury that? Let it fall to his feet when a header would surely have been converted from that range.
    • 66' Ibrahimovic takes down a long pass upfield with a classy first touch, turns and puts through CASSANO! 2-0!
    • 60' Now here come Plzen. Petrzela's cross is a good one and Abbiati has to punch away the danger. Vital intervention at that. It's not away though and Horvath shoots low! Saved by the keeper.
    • 59' Milan break forward and Seedorf is through off Ibra's lobbed ball forward. He volleys it first time to set up Cassano beside him... but the shot is over the bar.
    • 53' Ibrahimovic will take it. We have a bit of a delay as the ball isn't on the spot properly... here we go............................... SCORES! 1-0!
    • 52' Good flick by Ibrahimovic to turn towards goal and it hits the hand of a defender. The referee points to the spot! Penalty to Milan!
    • 44' A low Seedorf centre from the left flashes across goal. Nobody is able to get a touch on it to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.
    • 39' Plzen get their first real move in the last few minutes of Rosseneri onslaught. Bakos tees up Horvath! How did he miss that? Off target from a great position. Could have been 0-1.
    • 37' Scratch that. Here come Milan again. Ibra shoots again, and Cech stops it again. Both striker and keeper are standing out at the moment.
    • 32' Abate makes a fool of the left back, his cross misses Cassano but lands with Ibrahimovic at the far post.... WHAT A REFLEX SAVE FROM CECH! Corner coming up.
    • 5' Now Milan attack. CASSANO! Saved by the legs of Cech at point blank! Great run forward from the right-hand side of the area by Ibrahimovic before pulling back for his strike partner.
    • 3' But now it's the visitors forward. Pilar beats his man on the left and whips in a good centre...BAKOS WITH THE HEADER! Great tip around the far post by Abbiati! But the touchline official deems it a goal kick?
    • 19:20 TEAMS - AC Milan: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini, Van Bommel, Nocerino, Seedorf, Emanuelson, Cassano, Ibrahimovic. Subs: Amelia, Taiwo, Aquilani, Bonera, De Sciglio, Ganz, Yepes. /// Plzen: Cech, Rajtoral, Bystron, Cisovski, Limbersky, Jiracek, Horvath, Kolar, Petrzela, Pilar, Bakos. Subs: Pavlik, Duris, Trapp, Fillo, Reznik, Sevinsky, Darida

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • AC Milan

    Manager: Massimiliano Allegri

  • Viktoria Plzen

    Manager: Pavel Vrba

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.6 6
      Defenders
      Substitution Out87′ 6.1 6
      6.5 5
      6.8 7
      Substitution Out78′ 5.8 6
      Midfielders
      6 7
      5.5 6
      Substitution Out71′ 6.8 7
      6 6
      Strikers
      Goal 6.8 8
      Goal 6.8 9
      Subs
      Substitution In71′ 5.6 5
      Substitution In78′ 5.8 5
      Substitution In87′ 6.1 5
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      Yellow Card 6.5 8
      Defenders
      5.9 7
      5.7 7
      Yellow Card 5.5 5
      6.2 6
      Midfielders
      6 6
      Yellow Card 6.2 6
      Yellow Card 6 6
      Substitution Out90′ 6.3 6
      Substitution Out76′ 6.3 6
      Strikers
      Substitution Out68′ 6.4 5
      Subs
      Substitution In76′ 6.4 5
      Substitution In90′ 6.6 5
      Substitution In68′ 6.7 6

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