Wasteful AC Milan lets Newcastle off the hook

The Rossoneri were dominant on the stat sheet, but couldn’t make their control of the match pay off

Just one game into the Champions League, and AC Milan is already on the back foot.

Despite controlling the match at San Siro, the Rossoneri were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home against Newcastle on Tuesday.

Making its first Champions League appearance since 2002-03, Newcastle turned in a strong defensive effort that was boosted by some poor finishing from the home side.

With Borussia Dortmund and PSG also in Group F, missing a chance at maximum points at home will be a difficult way for Milan to start off its Champions League campaign.

Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah both entered the game as second-half substitutes, with Musah proving the more effective of the U.S. national team pair, but neither was able to provide a match-deciding contribution.

In a first half where it outshot Newcastle 15-2, Milan should have taken the lead through Rafael Leão, who did everything right before making an ill-advised decision to try a backheel after crafting a shooting chance.

It would get no better in the second half for Milan, which still wasn’t able to find a way past Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal. The final stats showed total domination from the Rossoneri, but no separation when it came to the one stat that truly matters.

To make things worse for Milan, both goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek went off injured. Musah looked lively when he replaced Loftus-Cheek in the 72nd minute, with the USMNT midfielder now potentially looking at a more prominent role in the England man’s absence.

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