UEFA Champions League – Second Half Review: Real Madrid 2-0 vs. AC Milan

UEFA Champions League – Second Half Review: Real Madrid 2-0 vs. AC Milan

To read the first-half report, click here.

The second half kicked off with the normal service resuming as Gennaro Gattuso tried to leave his stud’s marks on Cristiano Ronaldo’s leg. Madrid began the half with a comfortable two goal lead and were striving hard to keep their lead as they immediately repelled a strong AC Milan attack in the very first five minutes of the second half. The attack which was led by Alexandre Pato fizzled out as Pepe and Khedira combined to take the ball off of the Brazilian striker’s feet.

After dealing with Milan’s attack, Madrid launched another period of sustained possession which ended with a tackle on Ronaldo by Gattuso. The ensuing free kick was taken by Xabi Alonso in the 50^th minute of the match and to good effect as his lay off to Ronaldo almost found the back of the net for Real Madrid. In the 51^st minute, Pato was almost through on goal for the Milanese side but the striker was penalized for an uncharacteristic off-side. Gonzalo Higuain had a brilliant opportunity to give his team a three-goal lead in the 51^st minute of the match as Angel Di Maria crossed the ball into his teammate, but the Argentinean striker’s header only managed to find the hands of Milan’s goalkeeper.

Then again in the 53^rd minute, Real had another chance to put the game out of Milan’s reach as Di Maria once again crossed but this time for Mesut Ozil, luckily for Gattuso and co. the German midfielder’s back heel shot was just off target. The loose ball was retrieved by Cristiano Ronaldo but the winger’s cross was ineffective and finally the ball was cleared by Alessandro Nesta. From the 53^rd minute to the 59^th minute, Milan had a nice spell of possession but they were up against a miserly Real defence which seldom gave them a sniff at goal.

At around the 60^th minute mark, Di Maria once again cut past Luca Antonini and lobbed a ball into the Milan penalty area for Higuain but the striker’s movement was not up to the requirements as the ball was gathered by Milan’s goalkeeper. Milan made their first change of the match in the 61^st minute as Kevin Prince Boateng replaced Gennaro Gattuso in central midfield for the Rossoneri.

In the 63^rd minute, Madrid attacked yet again and this time Marcelo’s mazy run inside the Milanese penalty area caused chaos before the Brazilian laid the ball off to Ozil, who in return laid it off to Sami Khedira. However, in the end it came to nothing as Khedira’s shot missed the Milan goal by some distance. Higuain had another chance in the 66^th minute to add to his team’s impressive lead but his toe-poked shot on target was saved with ease by Milan’s goalkeeper, Amelia.

Madrid were wasteful with most of their chances in the second half as Ronaldo wasted his share in the 71^st minute after he was beautifully played in by Marcelo down the left hand side of attack. The first yellow card of the match was shown to Daniele Bonera for his trip on Gonzalo Higuain in the 72^nd minute of the match. The Italian defender stopped the Argentinean striker with a cynical foul to allow his team some breathing space as Madrid were in their full stride through another counterattack.

The second yellow card went to Kevin Prince Boateng in the 75^th minute due to his late foul on Mesut Ozil just outside the Milanese penalty area. It was a close call for Boateng, who almost gave away a penalty with the challenge in question. However, the referee decided wisely as he pointed for a free kick. Despite all their missed chances, Mourinho’s men came out as eventual winners in the end by a score-line of two goals to nil. It was a dominating performance by Los Blancos who now top their UEFA Champions League group.