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

AC Milan face a do-or-die situation against Feyenoord tonight in the Champions League, knowing they must win to continue their journey in the competition.

Milan were nowhere near the required level in the first leg at De Kuip, and the tone was set after just three minutes when Igor Paixao’s fizzing low shot somehow beat Mike Maignan at the near post.

A lot was written in the build-up to the game about the ‘Fantastic Four’ forward group for the Rossoneri but they were stifled by a very resilient Feyenoord defence, who hung on to win 1-0.

The five key battles

As mentioned in the intro, Igor Paixão was the man of the match in the first leg and Milan simply have to find a way to stop him, especially given the chances that are likely to emerge on the break. The Brazilian has been involved in eight goal-ending sequences of play in the Champions League this season, with Raphinha (13) being the only winger who has taken part in more in 2024-25.

Kyle Walker struggled in the 1v1 battles he had against Paixao and a more attentive performance will be required from the Englishman, with Fikayo Tomori perhaps also being brought over at times to double team if indeed he does start alongside his compatriot on the right side of defence.

There is the potential for a quite personal battle to be played out between Rafael Leao and Givairo Read, especially after the comments that the Feyenoord full-back made following the first leg. The teenager said that Leao was not actually that fast and that his movements had been quite predictable.

Photo by Sara Cavallini/AC Milan via Getty Images + Gazzetta dello Sport

Since making his UCL debut in September 2021, Leão is one of only two players to complete 100+ dribbles in the competition (100), along with Vinícius Júnior (137). He also leads all players in the 2024-25 edition (33), with three of those coming in the first leg between Feyenoord and Milan last week (3). Read made eight tackles in the first leg, the most by a teenager in a UCL knockout stage match since FC Schalke 04’s Joël Matip in April 2011 (eight v Internazionale in a quarter-final game).

Prior to the game last week, we picked out Santiago Gimenez versus David Hancko as the main one of the five key battles that would determine the outcome of the game, and it was the Slovakia international who was left celebrating after keeping his former team-mate at bay.

After the full-time whistle he admitted to using an approach he knew Gimenez wouldn’t like, but the beauty of a two-legged tie is that the Mexican striker gets another chance to have the last laugh and to hurt his former team. He will be full of confidence too, after scoring his second goal in two Serie A games during Saturday’s win over Verona.

Tijjani Reijnders will no doubt have had flashbacks about the big chance he missed in the first leg less than 60 seconds before Paixao made it 1-0, but he remains a crucial component of the comeback mission. Some say the Dutchman hasn’t hit the same heights under Conceicao as he did under Fonseca, yet in a game like this where attacking is a must, he will have license to get forward.

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With Feyenoord having a long injury list which includes Quentin Timber, Jakub Moder is the man who is likely to come up against Reijnders as the right mezzala for the Eredivisie side. He arrived in January on a permanent deal from Brighton and already seems to be an established starter, but tonight will be among his toughest tests yet.

We end with another midfield duel between Joao Felix and Antoni Milambo. The energy, physicality and dynamism of the 19-year-old Feyenoord talent was a big part of the reason that they kept a clean sheet in the first game as he was a very effective shield in front of the defence, reducing the pockets of space available to play in.

With Felix tipped to start as the attacking midfielder again, the Portuguese will look to pull the strings and be the creative quarterback of the attack with some smart movement and combination play, but also to stretch what is likely to be a deep Feyenoord defence with some runs in behind.