Tottenham Hotspur have held off a dogged AC Milan outfit to book their spot in the final eight of the Uefa Champions League. Spurs started brightly in the goalless draw before turning their hand to defence as the Rossoneri chased an equaliser following the 1-0 victory to the Londoners in the first leg at the San Siro.
The visitors had the better of the chances but could not apply the finishing touches as Harry Redknapp's men changed their tact to holding down a solid fort to keep the required clean sheet that has put them through to the quarter-finals of the 2010/11 competition in their first campaign.
Uefa Champions League - Round of 16 second legTottenham Hotspur(ENG): 0 *(Tottenham win 1-0 on aggregate) AC Milan (ITA): 0
Venue: White Hat Lane, North London Crowd: approx. 35,000 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL) Yellow cards:TOT - nil MIL - Marek Jankulovski 48', Mathieu Flamini 63', Alexandre Pato 64'
Both sides started positively with Tottenham having the best early chance when Rafael van der Vaart struck wide from 20 yards in the 2nd minute whilst Milan were looking dangerous through the likes of Alexandre Pato and Robinho.
The 16th minute saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic send a whizzing free-kick goalward but Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes was perfectly placed to knock it to safety.
The home side had a let-off in the 26th minute when Robinho advanced forward only to see his bobbled shot cleared off the line by William Gallas as Milan looked to get on the front foot in the opening half-hour.
van der Vaart's 31st minute free-kick sent a few shivers through the Milan camp before trying his luck from well out six minutes later in a first half that yielded few clear cut chances but was entertaining nonetheless.
Tottenham were on top in the early stages of the second term with Peter Crouch providing a threat in the air but it was Milan who had the best chance in the 66th minute when Spurs keeper Gomes threw the ball away and Pato's shot needed some saving before a goalmouth scramble which almost saw Robinho in.
The visitors were again close when substitute Alexander Merkel set up Pato in the 76th minute but the Brazilian's shot flashed into the side netting which was a sight Gomes would have been delighted to see.
After some nervy moments, Tottenham were able to deny Milan any further chances, despite a late scare from Robinho, and were able to book themselves a spot in the final eight of Europe's premier club competition with a fighting 0-0 draw.
Starting Line-UpsTottenhamHeurelho Gomes (gk) - Vedran Corluka, William Gallas, Michael Dawson, Benoit Assou-Ekotto - Aaron Lennon, Sandro, Luka Modric, Steven Pienaar (Jenas 70') - Rafael van der Vaart (Bale 66') - Peter Crouch (Pavlyuchenko 83')
Subs - Carlo Cudicini (gk) Gareth Bale (66'), Jermaine Jenas (70'), Roman Pavlyuchenko (83'), Alan Hutton, Ledley King, Jermain Defoe,
MilanChristian Abbiati (gk) - Ignazio Abate, Alessandro Nesta, Thiago Silva, Marek Jankulovski (Antonini 70') - Kevin-Prince Boateng (Merkel 76'), Mathieu Flamini (Strasser 87'), Clarence Seedorf - Alexandre Pato, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho
Subs - Marco Amelia (gk), Luca Antonini (70'), Alexander Merkel (76'), Rodney Strasser (87'), Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Massimo Oddo, Mario Yepes
