Leaders Milan prepare for life without Ibrahimovic

ROME: Serie A leaders AC Milan enter the final quarter of the season with a severe handicap for the next three games as star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be watching on from the stands.

Alexandre Pato

A moment of madness against rock-bottom Bari last week, when he slapped Marco Rossi in the ribs, earned the big Swede a straight red card and three-game ban.

He will miss today’s trip to Palermo but then perhaps crucially the top of the table Milan derby against Inter as well.

Without their top scorer and attacking focal point, Milan will have to show greater variety than they have otherwise demonstrated throughout much of this season, where Ibrahimovic has time and again made the difference.

However, he has scored only once since the end of January, and that a penalty, and some may feel that Milan have already been coping admirably without their talisman’s usual input.

But now it will be up to the likes of Alexandre Pato (pic), Antonio Cassano and Robinho to step up to the plate and show their worth.

Tottenham beats AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro

MILAN (AP) - Peter Crouch's late goal gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win at Serie A leader AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday.

Crouch scored with 10 minutes remaining after Aaron Lennon had broken clear from his own half.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he scored an injury time equalizer, but his overhead kick was ruled out for a push on Spurs captain Michael Dawson.

The Milan players' frustration boiled over at the final whistle and Genaro Gattuso appeared to headbutt Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan - a former Milan player - before both sets of players began scuffling.

Milan captain Gattuso, who had earlier shoved Jordan during the match, was also booked in the 75th minute and will miss the return leg at White Hart Lane.

It was an unseemly end to a match in which Tottenham again impressed at the San Siro, having recovered from 4-0 down to 4-3 against Inter Milan in the group stage earlier in the season.

Crouch was picked up front, with Jermain Defoe on the bench, and Harry Redknapp had clearly set up his side to target Crouch's height as a way to trouble the Milan defense.

AC Milan wins Champions League final

AC Milan made sure there was no Liverpool comeback this time. The Italian club won the Champions League final Wednesday, defeating Liverpool 2-1 behind two goals by Filippo Inzaghi for its seventh European Cup title.

"These are the evenings that remain with you for all your life," Inzaghi said. "I've scored quite a few times in Europe but scoring in the Champions League final is something special."
The game was a a rematch of the 2005 final when Milan blew a 3-0 halftime lead and lost on penalty kicks after a 3-3 tie that become one of the greatest finals in the competition's 52-year history.

"The defeat two years ago will stay me for a lifetime," Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso said. "But this is a different story. It's our turn to celebrate now."

Milan moved within two of Real Madrid's record of nine European Cup triumphs. Liverpool has won five times.

Milan, whose previous title came in 2003, won a showdown between teams struggling in their leagues — Milan is fourth in Serie A and Liverpool is third in the Premier League.

The sea of red of Liverpool fans at one end of the stadium outnumbered the red and black of Milan at the other.

Milan went ahead when Andrea Pirlo's 45th-minute free kick went through the wall and deflected off the side of Inzaghi and past goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Inzaghi made it 2-0 in the 82nd, taking a pass from Kaka in the center, spurting ahead and rolling the ball from an angle past the outstretched Reina.

"The first goal opened up the game, but the second was certainly more beautiful," Inzaghi said.
Dirk Kuyt scored for Liverpool with a minute to go. This time, however, there was no extra time and no penalty shootout.

"It's the complete opposite," said Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, whose goal began the comeback in Turkey two years ago. "You've got to take it on the chin, move on and try to pick yourself up, but at the moment it's heartbreaking. We gave everything but it wasn't to be tonight."

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who also led Valencia to the UEFA Cup title in 2004 before moving to Anfield, rued the deflected goal.

"We lost against a good team with top-class players," he said. "The first half we played really well but conceded a goal, a deflection, through bad luck."

AC Milan nearly was kicked out of this year's competition by European soccer's governing body but was allowed to remain and started in the third round of qualifying.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, a month short of his 39th birthday, became the oldest nongoalkeeper to take part in a final. He collected his fifth winners' medal, one short of the competition record by Real Madrid's Francisco Gento.

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti now has two winners medals as a coach to go with the ones he won as a Milan player in 1989 and 1990.

"This joy has to be shared with all those close to the club, all those who have sustained us, and all the fans," Ancelotti said. "It was a very difficult game, much like our season. We started slowly but grew in confidence as the game went on.