The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Feyenoord | OneFootball

AC Milan return to Champions League action tonight as they take on Feyenoord at De Kuip in the first leg of their play-off round tie.

Both teams come into the game in less than ideal circumstances, starting with Milan who have eight absentees and a real lack of midfield depth, while the only reason they are even playing at this stage is because of last month’s defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the final round.

Then there are Feyenoord, who currently sit fifth in the Eredivisie, lost their star striker Santiago Gimenez (to tonight’s opponents) at the end of the winter window and sacked their head coach on Monday, meaning a caretaker is in charge.

The five key battles

We simply have to start with the contest which is the most box-office: Santiago Giménez against David Hancko. Gimenez is the player with the best minutes per goal ratio in the UEFA Champions League this season (min. 4 goals), averaging one every 59 minutes (five goals in five appearances), and he bagged twice in their 3-0 win over Bayern in the penultimate league phase game.

Hancko meanwhile is the man who holds the Feyenoord back line together (or tries to) and is someone the Mexican striker knows well. Milan also know him having faced the Slovakia international while he was with Sparta Praha, and the general consensus is that he will be the next big-money sale after Gimenez, with Juventus and Premier League sides linked.

Meanwhile, at the other end the main threat for the home side is Igor Paixão. In fact, only Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere (5) recorded more assists during the UEFA Champions League league phase this season than the Brazilian winger (4). Paixao has five goal contributions in the competition this season with only Giménez (6, this season) ever having more during a UCL campaign for Feyenoord.

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Kyle Walker was the first of five signings to arrive for Milan in the winter window, and he has already begun to showcase his qualities. The Englishman’s leadership and composure have been evidence, helping to settle a previously erratic back line, and there are few players more used to big European nights than him, even if Paixao will be a stern test given his direct nature, speed and trickery.

Back to Milan’s attack, Christian Pulisic scored four goals during the Champions League league phase this season, with Olivier Giroud the last player to have more for the club (5 in 2022-23) in a single campaign in the competition. In the process, he also became the first USMNT player to score that many goals in a UCL campaign.

His two assists off the bench against Empoli at the weekend show just how much the Rossoneri rely on him creatively, and it will be up to Gijs Smal to try and stop him. Feyenoord actually signed a left-back in January in Quilindschy Hartman who was not named in the squad list, so the 27-year-old will look to limit Pulisic and keep his starting spot beyond tonight.

Moving to the midfield, Quentin Timber will likely be the man at the heart of driving play for Feyenoord and the one who will look to do damage when they have the chance in transition. He has six Eredivisie goals already in the current campaign and a couple of assists in the UCL, with his pace and physicality making him the engine.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

On the other side, Youssouf Fofana will try to do the exact same job for Milan, balancing defensive responsibilities with trying to build on his six assists for the season. The Frenchman didn’t look too sharp against Empoli and was taken off at half-time, but in an end-to-end game like tonight’s could be you’d rather have Fofana than not.

There are other candidates such as Tijjani Reijnders against Jakub Moder and Theo Hernandez versus Hadj Moussa, but we end with what should be Milan’s main threat – transition – and the danger man in those moments: Rafael Leão. The Portugal international completed 30 dribbles in the UEFA Champions League this season, the most of any player during the league phase.

Since making his debut in the competition in September 2021, only Vinícius Júnior (134) has completed more in this period than Leão (97). His opponent is expected to be Givairo Read, an 18-year-old who has recently established himself as a starter for De Stadionclub but will have rarely had a tougher test than this.