The goalless draw decided the confrontation between Italian Milan and its English guest Newcastle United (returning to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years), while German Leipzig defeated its Swiss host Young Boys 3-1 on Tuesday in the opening of the tournament.
In the first match held at the San Siro Stadium, for the strong seventh group, Milan (7-time champion of the competition) was satisfied with a single point against Newcastle, which constituted a disappointing result for coach Stefano Pioli’s team, coming from a humiliating defeat in the league against its neighbor Inter 1- 5.
Newcastle repeated the scenario of its only previous visit to the San Siro Stadium in the Champions League, when it imposed a 2-2 draw on its neighbor Inter in the second round in 2003.
Deadlock at San Siro ⚖️#UCL pic.twitter.com/DRphCfoNLh
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 19, 2023
The match witnessed the return of Sandro Tonali to face Milan, which he left this summer in the largest deal for an Italian player, after he missed the victory over Brentford, as he remained on the bench due to a minor injury he suffered while participating with his country in the 2024 European Cup qualifiers.
Milan suffered a blow late in the match with the injury of its French goalkeeper, Mike Magnane, who left his place to newcomer Marco Sportiello.
In the second match, German Leipzig began its fifth adventure in a row and only the sixth in its history in the best way, by defeating its Swiss host Young Boys 3-1 in the seventh group.
The German team deserved to take the lead early, as it besieged its host in its area from the beginning and opened the scoring in the third minute following a corner kick and a header by French defender Mohamed Simakan that diverted from the defense and deceived goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi.
But Young Boys returned to the match with a wonderful goal by Congolese Meshack Elia, who received the ball on the outskirts of the penalty area and fired a missile into the net (minute 33).
Mischak Ilya scores the equalizer #Champions League #Young_Boys_Leipzig pic.twitter.com/icFsOw2e14
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 19, 2023
The result remained the same until the 74th minute, when Schlager was able to put Leipzig back in front with a beautiful shot with his left hand from outside the area to the right of the goalkeeper, decisively securing the three points for the German guest, who secured the final victory with a goal in stoppage time from Cisco following a counterattack and a through pass from Benjamin Henrichs ( Minute 90+2).
