First leg: Bayern Munich 1-1 Milan
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident that his players’ technical superiority over their Bayern Munich counterparts will be enough to see off the German champions.
The teams shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Munich a fortnight ago, leaving the Rossoneri slight favourites to complete the task on home soil.
“It will be a game between two different football styles,” he said.
“Bayern are very aggressive and physically strong, while we are more skilled technically. They suffered against us when we started to play our usual football in the second half in Munich. I just hope we can do that for 90 minutes this time.”
“Bayern need to score and I expect them to play as they did in the first half in Munich, when they were aggressive and attacking-minded.
However, we are more focused, self-confident and aware of our strength now compared to a few weeks ago, so I’m very optimistic about our chances of progress.”
Milan will make a late a decision on keeper Dida’s fitness, although Ancelotti’s biggest fear is that the suspension of midfielder Gennaro Gattuso could be crucial.
“Gattuso’s absence is very important for us because he is unique in his role for his great determination and heart,” Ancelotti said.
“He is irreplaceable. However, [Johann] Vogel is a very good player, especially from a tactical point of view. He will not have particular problems.”
Bayern coach Felix Magath believes that Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Hamburg came about because the players had already begun to focus on the return leg with Milan..
“My players were busy last week thinking about Milan,” he declared.
“That was the reason we did not perform against Hamburg. We have a very important match here and we will be doing our utmost to reach the quarter-finals.
“Milan will play like a typical Italian team and their defence is very strong. But they have possibilities with some excellent players in attack and we will be giving Shevchenko extra attention.”
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