Feyenoord won the first leg of the Champions League Play-Off: in Rotterdam, it ends 1-0, thanks to Paixao's goal after three minutes, punishing a Milan side that was otherwise uninspired.
In the second leg, Milan started very well and scored a goal immediately. But, it was a rough match overall, as Feyenoord equalized. 1-1 was the final result and the Dutch sie made the upset of the tournament and passed through to the round of 16.
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Feyenoord-Milan, the first match:
Between injuries, suspensions, and players not on the squad list, Conceição has limited choices and fields the "four tenors"—Pulisic, Leao, Joao Felix, and Gimenez—from the start. The surprise is in defense, where Thiaw starts alongside Pavlovic instead of Tomori. Bosschaart, making his debut on the bench after his promotion from the Under-21 team, opts for a 4-3-3 formation with Moussa and Paixao supporting Ueda.
Milan tries to react after the 15-minute mark with a right-footed shot from Joao Felix at the edge of the box, but it’s again too central and easily collected by Wellenreuther. Around the half-hour mark, Leao goes down in the box after a challenge from Beelen, but the referee waves play on. The action continues, and Joao Felix gets a shot off, but the Feyenoord keeper is alert at the near post.
A flurry of action follows in the span of a minute: first, Moussa is blocked by Milan’s defense, then on the counter, Leao drives into the box, but his left-footed effort is closed down by Beelen. In the 37th minute, Feyenoord nearly doubles their lead: Paixao cuts inside from the left and curls a shot that clips the top of the crossbar. Three minutes later, Leao has a golden chance to equalize—Thiaw launches him into open space, and he surges towards goal, but just as he prepares to shoot, he stumbles and is closed down by Read. After four minutes of stoppage time, the first half ends with Feyenoord showing more intensity and leading by a goal.
As the teams return from the locker rooms, Feyenoord makes a change up front, with Carranza replacing Ueda. The first chance falls to the Dutch side: from a corner kick, Beelen rises highest but fails to generate enough power on his header.
In the ninth minute, the ever-dangerous Paixao sets up Carranza, whose left-footed shot drifts just wide. At the hour mark, Conceição makes his first substitutions: Tomori and Chukwueze come on for Thiaw, who had been booked earlier, and a subdued Pulisic. The tempo of the game drops compared to the first half. With 20 minutes to go, Reijnders cuts inside and strikes with his right foot, but the ball dips too late.
Shortly after, Paixao robs Walker of the ball, spots Maignan off his line, and attempts an audacious shot from midfield, but it lacks accuracy. In the 73rd minute, Milan wins a corner, and the clearance falls to Chukwueze, whose left-footed shot navigates through a crowd but doesn’t trouble Wellenreuther.
With seven minutes left, Conceição plays all his attacking cards, bringing on Camarda and Abraham for Leao and Gimenez. Milan pushes forward in search of an equalizer, but Feyenoord remains dangerous on the counterattack—Pavlovic makes a crucial intervention to deny Moussa.
Two minutes before stoppage time, Joao Felix gets a good chance, but his right-footed shot lacks placement and is easily collected by Wellenreuther.
Milan - Feyenoord, the second match:
Milan throws away a qualification to the Round of 16 that was within reach. A match unlocked after just 41 seconds by Santiago Gimenez, but the Rossoneri were guilty of failing to double their lead before halftime.
Theo Hernandez picked up two yellow cards: a completely unnecessary foul in midfield in the first half, and a dive in the box in the second. Until Marciniak showed him the red card, Milan had been dominating, and a second goal seemed imminent.
From that moment on, despair set in, with Feyenoord taking control of the game and finding the equalizer in the 73rd minute through Carranza. Milan's attacks were ineffective, despite having shown superior quality, but once again, they proved incapable of overturning a deficit in a two-legged tie. The last time they managed to do so was in 2007, against Manchester United in the semifinals. And it’s no coincidence that that was the team that went on to win their last Champions League.
To think that this Milan, just 90 minutes before the end of the League Phase, had one foot in the Round of 16. Now, they throw away a significant amount of money (qualification to the Round of 16 is worth €11 million, plus the revenue from a home match) and damage their UEFA ranking, which is crucial for securing a fifth Champions League spot for Italy next season. A failure on all fronts.
