The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Milan have sting in tail for United
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MANCHESTER UNITED AC MILAN
Teenage substitute Amad Diallo opened his Manchester United account in style but Simon Kjaer’s stoppage-time header denied Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men victory against AC Milan in the Europa League.
The eagerly-anticipated last-16 clash between these European heavyweights produced drama and set up an interesting San Siro fixture next week.
Half-time substitute Diallo’s superb, improvised header looked to have secured a hard-fought firstleg win at Old Trafford, only for Kjaer’s last-gasp header to seal Milan a deserved 1-1 draw.
In truth, Solskjaer’s side would have been fortunate to be going to Italy in the lead given how the absentee-hit Rossoneri outplayed the hosts for large periods.
United looked a shell of the side that impressively won at Manchester City on Sunday and Franck Kessie was denied an early opener when the video assistant referee contentiously ruled he had handled.
The hosts were second best throughout the opening period but inexplicably failed to go into the break ahead as unmarked Harry Maguire met a flicked-on corner with a shinned effort that hit the post.
Substitute Diallo did better when expertly heading in from Bruno Fernandes’ quickly-taken free-kick.
But Milan secured a potentially crucial away goal at the death when Kjaer capitalised on United’s inability to defend set-pieces.
Milan deserved this result, playing impressively without the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Theo Hernandez and Ante Rebic among others.
Stefano Pioli’s men had started on the front foot with Rafael Leao rueing a fifth-minute opener ruled
out for offside. The Rossoneri found the net again in the 11th minute. United were caught napping as Kessie controlled a throw-in from the right and continued to hit a smart strike past Dean Henderson to send the depleted visitors wild.
There were few complaints about the goal as the teams lined up for kick-off, only for Solskjaer’s men to be given a surprise reprieve as VAR Bastian Dankert surprisingly cancelled the goal out for a Kessie handball.
It was a controversial decision but Milan continued unflustered, with Alexis Saelemaekers proving a handful as Manchester City academy graduate Brahim Diaz probed.
Rade Krunic mishit an effort before Saelemaekers tested Henderson as the Rossoneri continued in the ascendancy, leading skipper Maguire to angrily admonish his team-mates.
A smart early Anthony Martial effort tipped over by Gianluigi Donnarumma was the best the hosts could muster until Maguire wasted a glorious chance to score an undeserved 38thminute opener.
Alex Telles swung in a corner that Fernandes flicked on to the far post, where the unopposed United skipper somehow failed to convert from point-blank range as the ball spun off his foot and away from goal.
United would have been relieved to hear the halftime whistle after a torrid first half, with Diallo emerging in place of Martial when the teams re-emerged.
This was just the 18-yearold’s third substitute appearance but he made quite the impact, putting the hosts ahead within five minutes of coming on.
Diallo darted between Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori and Diogo Dalot, who is on loan from United,
to meet Fernandes’ freekick with a fine back header over Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma.
It was a gut punch for the impressive visitors, who could have gone further behind had it not been for a timely block on Daniel James.
Milan eventually rallied and began to exert pressure again, with Kessie denied by Henderson before Krunic somehow failed to get a Davide Calabria cross on target.
James turned a whipped cross badly wide as the heavens opened and play became stretched, with Milan screaming for Scott McTominay to pick up a second booking as the clock wound down.
The Rossoneri pushed relentlessly for a leveller and grabbed an away goal in stoppage time.
Nemanja Matic lost Kjaer when a corner came in to get away a header that Henderson should have kept out.
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ilip Helander’s away goal was the perfect hangover cure for Rangers as the newly-crowned Scottish champions claimed a Europa League draw with Slavia Prague in the Czech capital last night.
Steven Gerrard’s team spent Sunday partying after sealing the Ibrox outfit’s first league title in a decade.
But their wild weekend appeared to catch up with them at the Eden Arena as they allowed Nicolae Stanciu to fire Slavia into an early lead.
Helander’s tap-in preserved their 12-game unbeaten run against continental opposition and set them up with a golden chance to march on again, while they were also thankful for a stunning late save from Allan McGregor.
Rangers started like a team who could still taste what they had drunk at the weekend.
Slavia, though, were in no mood to show sympathy.
With Gerrard’s team far too passive, it took the Czechs just seven minutes to take advantage.
Lukas Provod’s crossfield pass found Peter Olayinka out wide, who was allowed to roll the ball back to Stanciu on the corner of the box as Nathan Patterson failed to get tight.
Connor Goldson also stood off while Ianis Hagi arrived too late to stop his fellow Romanian sweeping an unstoppable strike past McGregor from 20 yards out.
The Light Blues were looking green around the gills.
Goldson and Glen Kamara were both caught in possession, Joe Aribo was late into a challenge, while Ryan Kent put the ball straight out of the park.
Helander and McGregor almost got in a mix-up too as Jan Kuchta put them under pressure, and it became abundantly clear Slavia – who like the Gers have yet to suffer a domestic league defeat this term and who dumped Leicester out of Europe last month – would not be as generous as previous opponents Royal Antwerp.
However, slowly the colour returned to Rangers’ cheeks.
They still had to ride their luck. Provod slid in Kuchta but his shot bobbled wide, while McGregor had to remain alert as Provod tried to whip a sneaky wide freekick into the near post.
Rangers needed a break of the ball to go their way and they got one off Goldson’s knee nine minutes before the break.
Alfredo Morelos won his team the chance to send the big men forward but it appeared it was for nothing as Borna Barisic’s deep free-kick bounced off Goldson.
Slavia stopper Ondrej Kolar paused assuming it was running out. But it was a fatal mistake as Hagi refused to give up on the opportunity and raced to the by-line to hook it back for Helander to tap home.
The half-time break offered Gerrard’s team a welcome breather – and Aribo soon caught a second wind.
He fired wide with one chance before skipping into the box to cut back for Kent, whose shot fired into the turf and was then clawed away by the scrambling Kolar before it dropped under his crossbar.
And Prague were relieved again on 68 minutes as Goldson failed to get a clean connection on another teasing Barisic delivery when a firm header would surely have put Rangers ahead.
Aribo again was the main man as he jinked beautifully into the box. But instead of taking the strike himself, the move went flat as he failed to pick out Morelos at the back post.
Patterson was put through another stiff test of his abilities but the 19-yearold stood up to the test with a vital late block, while a breathtaking save from McGregor denied Lukas Masopust to ensure Rangers’ quarter-finals dreams remain intact ahead of next week’s return at Ibrox.
Making the last eight could be significant for the country’s co-efficient.
Scotland still sit 11th in Uefa’s rankings, just ahead of Ukraine, a spot that would likely earn a direct place in the 2022-23 Champions League group stage for next season’s Premiership winners.
Davie Martindale fears it will be pre-season before he sees Gavin Reilly back in action after revealing the Livingston striker has suffered a 20-centimetre hamstring tear.
The Lions boss admits the injury suffered by the former Hearts and St Mirren player in last week’s defeat by Rangers was one of the worst he has ever seen.
And he believes it may have been caused by the ultra-fit 27-year-old being too lean.
Martindale said: “Gavin’s got a 20cm tear in his hamstring.
“He’s absolutely devastated.”
He continued: “It’s season-ending. It’s potentially a, ‘I hope to see you in pre-season’ job.
“It’s a four-monther give or take depending on how he heals.
“He’s one of these guys with low body fat and a lot of muscle mass.
“There’s real definition to him, almost like a sprinter’s body. But some boys are almost too conditioned and have too little fat in them.
“You need to have a bit of fat in the muscle to give it that elasticity.”
Martindale will have to put his faith in strikers Scott Robinson, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Matej Poplatnik as Livi go in search of the single point from their two remaining pre-split games needed to clinch a top-six place, with Hamilton first up at the Tony Macaroni Arena tomorrow.
A top-half finish for the second year running would be a massive financial boost for the Lions but Martindale admits he will not see a penny of the prize money, with the windfall required to repair the damage done to the club’s balance sheet by Covid.
“My budget is based on finishing 12th,” he said.
“So if we go down next year, it means the club is not losing thousands of pounds and every single player who signs has a relegation clause in their contract because we can’t afford to pay those wages if we drop down.”
Dundee United hero Sean Dillon believes “special talent” Chris Mochrie can “run a-Moch” in League 1, with the Tangerines youngster returning to Montrose on loan.
Teen star Mochrie spent the first part of this season at Links Park but was recalled by United after the suspension of the lower leagues.
With Leagues 1 and 2 set to return on March 20 after the introduction of regular Covid testing, the youngster is back in training with the Gable Endies.
Montrose player-coach and former Terrors captain Dillon is delighted to have the young midfielder back in Angus and is expecting big things.
“We’re buzzing because he’s brilliant,” the 37-yearold defender said.
“We really, really pushed to get him back. We were very keen because we were disappointed when he had to go back to United. There was an element of fear there he might get an opportunity and take it at United or go on loan elsewhere.
“As a friend I’d love to see him doing well at United, but as a selfish coach and player at Montrose I’m delighted he’s back.
“I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him and I don’t like saying that because he’s only 17 and he’s got a long way to go before he reaches his peak, but he’s a special talent.
“Our No 1 thing when a lad comes in on loan is to improve them. The better job we do with them, the more chance we have of getting another player back next season.
“We want the reputation for our club, the staff, the squad and the way we deal with players to be good.
“We want them going away thinking they’ve become better players while helping Montrose to have success.”
Mochrie, who turns 18 next month, became United’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 27 days when he made his debut as a second-half substitute at Morton back in 2019.
The playmaker was in sparkling form for the Mighty Mo before the turn of the year, scoring once to help the club into third spot.
Mochrie has yet to start for the Tangerines, having appeared seven times off the bench, but Dillon hopes the midfielder can kick on and develop on and off the pitch – in spite of the difficulties posed by Covid-19.
He added: “It’s hard for anybody, even at full-time level. You can’t talk to each other properly and socialise at the moment because of the pandemic.
“You don’t have any time to spend in the dressingroom like you’d normally have, pre-season trips, social events, etc.
“That’s when you get to know lads properly. It’s frightening. I was already in my first season back in Ireland before he was born.
“It’s great he’s here and he’s become more integrated in the group.
“He’s been a little more vocal but he’s got a long way to go. He could talk a lot more than he does but we’ll just keep trying to coach that out of him.
“He should know by now that he’s part of the group because he’s played enough games and been part of us picking up points and good performances.
“The hope is he comes in and does even better this time.”
As they await news of when exactly they’ll return, who they will face first and how the format will look, Dillon says Montrose have given themselves every chance to have success this season in the third tier.
He said: “We’re doing not bad, we’re always just trying to do as well as we can.
“I don’t want to overly play things down but, yeah, we’ve had a decent run and a slightly better start than what we’ve normally had over the last few years.
“If you look at the two seasons before this one, our starts aren’t particularly great.
“That’s definitely something we spoke about in the lead-up to this season, knowing that the maximum was going to be 27 games.
“That was something we needed to address and say: ‘Look lads, as a group we need to make sure we get off to a good start because we’re not going to have 36 games’.
“Those nine games at the end of last season gave us that push to get into the play-off positions and that’s not going to be there this season.
“I’m looking getting back.” forward