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* Crouch winner gives Spurs first-leg lead

* Gattuso flare up mars win (writes through)

By Antonella Ciancio

MILAN, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur’s debut season in the Champions League continued to gather momentum after a Peter Crouch goal sank below-par AC Milan in a 1-0 last 16 first-leg victory on Tuesday.

England striker Crouch struck 10 minutes from time following a swift counter-attack at a rain-soaked San Siro, extending Milan’s poor recent home record in European competition to just one win in 10 games.

Serie A leaders Milan, seven-times European champions, struggled to impose themselves in a niggly encounter that flared up at various stages.

Milan midfielder Mathieu Flamini was lucky just to be booked for a crude two-footed lunge that forced Vedran Corluka out of the game and Gennaro Gattuso is likely to face UEFA repercussions after appearing to headbutt Spurs assistant manager Joe Jordan after the final whistle.

Gattuso had to be pulled away from Jordan and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp branded the Italian firebrand “crazy”.

“I lost control,” Gattuso told reporters. “There is no excuse for what I have done. I take my responsibilities for that. I was nervous. I didn’t want to argue with players and I did it with him, but I was wrong to do what I have done.”

Redknapp also blasted Flamini, calling his challenge on Corluka a “horrendous”.

“It was a deliberate tackle. He could have broken his leg. A referee should have red-carded him,” an angry Redknapp told a news conference.

Crouch, who finished with aplomb from 10 metres after a lightning break from Aaron Lennon, said Spurs were the better side.

“I thought we deserved to win, we limited them to a few chances… defended magnificently.

“It was a great win, it’s a fantastic achievement to beat Milan in the San Siro but the job is not finished.”

The Premier League side, who lost 4-3 at the San Siro to Milan’s city rivals Inter in the group stage in October, were the better side in the first half before Milan improved after the break.

Spurs had an early shout for a penalty turned down when the fit-again Rafael van der Vaart’s effort appeared to strike Alessandro Nesta on the arm.

HEAD INJURY

The home side lost goalkeeper Christian Abbiati after 18 minutes with a head injury. Abbiati went to hospital for checks on concussion and his replacement Marco Amelia had to touch a fierce Van der Vaart shot over the bar after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had fired a free kick wide in Milan’s first meaningful chance.

Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri, with several midfielders such as Andrea Pirlo injured and the likes of Antonio Cassano ineligible, sent out a defensive-looking team with centre back Thiago Silva in midfield and in the first half it showed.

He threw on Brazil forward Alexandre Pato at the break and Milan’s Mario Yepes had two headers well-saved by Heurelho Gomes.

Robinho had a close-range shot deflected wide and Milan thought they had equalised late in stoppage time but Ibrahimovic’s spectacular overhead strike was ruled out for a push.

(Writing by Mark Meadows; Editing by Justin Palmer; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Agences de presses

Labels: badtempered, clash, Crouch, Milan, Reuters, sinks

{ Tottenham's match winner Peter Crouch challenges Mathieu Flamini of Milan during the hot-tempered round of 16 first-leg at San Siro. Photograph: Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

Prizes come in many forms. Tottenham Hotspur, above all, have a fine prospect of stepping into the last eight of the Champions League following this first-leg result. Beyond that there is the pride in overcoming a club of Milan's renown, although the current side fell far from the standards once expected of them. The second-half winner from Peter Crouch was merited for Spurs' showing over the span of the night.

Milan took it so badly that the midfielder Gennaro Gattuso seemed to butt the Tottenham coach Joe Jordan at full-time. There was real harm done earlier, however, by a terrible two-foot challenge from Mathieu Flamini that ended Vedran Corluka's night. He had done much to bring vitality to Tottenham's play by cutting loose on the right when the contest wasstill taking shape. The referee, Stéphane Lannoy,somehow saw fit merely to book Flamini.

Even with Corluka hurt so severely, there was cause for Tottenham to be encouraged as Jonathan Woodgate emerged to make his first appearance in a competitive game since injuries engulfed him last, in November 2009. Milan were right to be wary of a team on the rise who are seeing events run to their benefit. Nobody missed even the injured Gareth Bale, who had notched a hat-trick at this ground against Internazionale in October.

The Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri understood the risk he faced and was conservative in putting the Brazilian forward Pato initially among the substitutes. His strategies still malfunctioned as Clarence Seedorf, now 34, looked too venerable for attacking midfield duties and he was necessarily substituted. Tottenham had swagger and also a blend of talents, with Sandro and Wilson Palacios adding a crucial solidity to the midfield.

Luka Modric, a couple of weeks after having his appendix removed, came off the bench eventually, but the initial line-up probably suited Tottenham for this type of encounter.

They looked settled from the outset. Crouch could not make much of Corluka's cross in the fifth minute, but he settled the outcome eventually. The winner was slick as Aaron Lennon went past Mario Yepes to set up the goal.

Milan were off-balance throughout and had distractions such as the loss of the goalkeeper Christian Abbiati after he seemed to hurt his head while challenged by Crouch for a cross. Half an hour passed without his Spurs counterpart Heurelho Gomes being involved in a notable way.

The one frisson of alarm had come when Sandro felled Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 23rd minute, but the contact was just outside the area and the referee saw no offence in any case. The inconspicuous striker did not catch the eye until putting the ball in the net only after shoving Michael Dawson in stoppage time. They did not want to be drawn into an unstable, incident-strewn game. The potential consequences of such an evening had been illustrated in Tottenham's 4-3 defeat at San Siro in the group stage. It might as well have been Inter who had been beaten that night, however. They took full points from the match, but also carried an inferiority complex with them. Harry Redknapp's side qualified ahead of them for this phase of the competition.

There is supposed to be a prize for that in the encounter with a club that could only come second in its group. In Milan's case the situation is more complex since they had been gathering momentum until now in Allegri's first season. The manager seemed to feel that Tottenham would be toppled eventually in this tie because they are an unbalanced team. There was no indication of that.

Tottenham were still in the ascendant when, four minutes from half-time, the replacement goalkeeper Marco Amelia tipped over an effort from Rafael van der Vaart. As the away side, they had also taken some precautionary measures, but briefly made a greater effort to exploit Milan.

Gomes did well to reach a header by Yepes and put it behind for a corner. Tottenham were under stress and the centre-half Yepes caused alarm more than once with aerial prowess that called for superb reactions and agility from the goalkeeper. Having commanded at times, Redknapp's men showed they also knew how to cope and eventually to prosper.

The losers were desperate, with Ibrahimovic applying a very obvious shove to Dawson before netting in stoppage time.

There are various punishments ahead for Milan. Some will now see the club's position at the head of Serie A as an indictment of Italian football. That is too extreme a conclusion to draw from a single evening at San Siro. It is enough to say that Milan fared badly when compelled to meet a keen and rising force such as Tottenham.

Agences de presses

Labels: breakaway, Crouch, Guardian, Hotspur, Milan, Peter, skids, Tottenham, under