Stefano Pioli is dreaming of going all the way with Milan in this season's Champions League after overcoming Tottenham in the first knockout round.
Milan held Tottenham to a goalless draw in Wednesday's last-16 second leg in north London to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory and a place in next week's quarter-final draw.
Mike Maignan made a superb save late on to deny Harry Kane, but Milan finished the game with an expected goals (xG) return of 1.37 compared to 0.46 for Spurs.
It is the first time since the 2011-12 campaign that Milan have reached the final eight of the competition, and Pioli is excited for what is to come.
"We were good today. We asked the team to play with personality," he told Prime Video. "We never gave up and it's a well-deserved passage through the next round.
"We have to take one step at a time. It was important to get through the group, then the round of 16, and now we'll wait for the [quarter-final] draw.
"It's clear that we'll face a great team, but Tottenham were also a great team. Dreaming is nice; it helps you to work better.
"It's wonderful to play in the Champions League. So either we win it, which would not be easy, or try to qualify by finishing in the top four in Serie A."
Pioli, whose side are fifth in Serie A, added: "I like to think there's nothing impossible in sport. Clearly, only the best in Europe remain and each round gets more difficult.
"But I'm sure all the experiences in Europe – especially the negative ones – help us to step up a level. Now we must go into the quarter-final with confidence and belief."
Milan have kept four successive clean sheets in the Champions League for the first time since between April and October 2006.
Pioli's decision to revert to a three-man defence has paid off, with his side winning five games out of seven since then.
"I took this decision after the defeat against Sassuolo," Pioli said of the tactical switch. "It seems that the old system we used didn't work well.
"The attitude has changed; the team works with more attention. We have three central defenders who are capable of playing in this system, so it was time to change."
Kane's late glancing header, which Maignan did well to get down and save, was the closest Tottenham went to scoring across both legs.
The hosts had Cristian Romero sent off for two bookable offences and Milan almost snatched a late winner on the day when Divock Origi broke clear but hit the post.
And former Arsenal striker Giroud, who played 81 minutes despite being a fitness doubt, believes Milan did enough to win the second leg.
"I told the lads we deserved to be in the Champions League last year and this season we want to go further," he said.
"We deserved to go through thanks to our determination. I think we could've won this second leg as well and it's a pity we didn't score as we had the clearest chances."
Manchester United 1-1 Burnley: Late Amdouni penalty earns Burnley deserved point at Old Trafford
Burnley boosted their Premier League survival hopes after holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Zeki Amdouni’s calm late penalty moved Burnley within two points of safety with three games remaining.
All the Clarets’ hard work appeared to be in vain when Antony broke the deadlock, but they responded well to ensure a hard-earned share of the spoils.
Burnley remain 19th but are now two points behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest, who host Manchester City on Sunday, while United stay sixth.
Although David Datro Fofana shot straight at Andre Onana inside the opening 30 seconds, United soon established their authority on proceedings with Christian Eriksen curling just wide and Fernandes rattling Arijanet Muric’s right post as they threatened the opening goal.
But the hosts had Onana to thank for keeping Burnley at bay as the first half went on. First, he tipped over Wilson Odobert’s long-range effort, before producing a magnificent reflex save to deny Foster.
Onana kept out Foster again while Alejandro Garnacho fired into the side-netting four minutes before half-time, as both sides returned to their dressing rooms still seeking the breakthrough.
Garnacho continued to carry United’s greatest threat after the break. The Argentine winger shot narrowly wide after a swift counter, before Muric pushed away his powerful volley from a corner.
However, the visitors gifted their opponents the opening goal in the 79th minute, as Antony intercepted Sander Berge’s loose pass before racing away and slotting past Muric.
But there was to be a late twist three minutes from time, when Amdouni coolly rolled home the equaliser from the penalty spot after VAR ruled Onana had fouled the Burnley striker.
Ton up for Fernandes as United stumble
United ended their four-game winless streak when they came from behind to beat Sheffield United in midweek.
However, they have not recorded successive victories since mid-February after Amdouni’s late penalty.
Bruno Fernandes did his best to rally the hosts, becoming the first player this season to create 100 or more chances.
It was in vain however, with Erik ten Hag’s side now having failed to keep a clean sheet in six attempts.
More Old Trafford joy for Kompany
Vincent Kompany won five of his nine Premier League visits to Old Trafford as a player (56 per cent), with only David Silva enjoying a higher success rate among opposing players with eight or more trips (75 per cent).
The Belgian was looking to become the third person to triumph here as a player and manager, after Steve Clarke and Mark Hughes.
While he could not quite achieve that, his side were more than deserving of a point following a spirited display against United.
Now with only one defeat in their last eight games, the Clarets have made themselves difficult to beat at a crucial time in the season, and they will hope it pays dividends in their quest for survival.
Newcastle United 5-1 Sheffield United: Blades relegated after thrashing
Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League following a 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday.
Alexander Isak netted in both halves as the Magpies came from behind, with Bruno Guimaraes helping to complete the turnaround after Anel Ahmedhodzic's early opener.
Callum Wilson rounded off the scoring after Ben Osborn's own goal had taken the game away from Chris Wilder's side, sending them back to the Championship.
Newcastle stay in seventh place, four points above West Ham in eighth, while the Blades sit bottom of the table after a 25th league defeat of the season.
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
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