On a pleasant late July evening, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan met in the International Champions Cup at US Bank Stadium in front of 31,264 fans. Tottenham Hotspur proved to be the better side on the night, with Georges-Kevin Nkoudou’s goal in the 47th minute being the difference between the two.
Both teams featured younger squads, as a number of their players are still on break after playing in the Men’s World Cup earlier this summer. The ICC provides a great opportunity for these younger players to become comfortable playing for their senior sides.
Leading the youth brigade for Tottenham Hotspur. was Oliver Skipp and Kyle Walker-Peters Coach Mauricio Pochettino was looking for something from both players as he gave them the opportunity to play all 90 minutes in Tottenham’s last US match. Walker-Peters would earn Man of the Match honors for his play.
On the other side AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso was happen to give his side a complete line change at half time, substituting his entire bunch. This switch would ultimately lead to the lone goal of the match.
For much of the first half, Tottenham would control possession, and then be caught on the counter. First half goalkeeper Michel Vorm was called into action occasionally, but most shots by AC Milan were off target.
Tottenham’s best chance in the first half came on a steal by Luke Amos in the box that went wide.
In the second half, with Tottenham playing mostly the same line up as the first, they were able to take AC Milan’s defense by surprise. Winger Nkoudou had space and charged in on goal. As the defender neared, he took his shot. The goalkeeper managed to get a hand on it, but couldn’t stop the ball from going in.
AC Milan was able to create some decent chances late, but Tottenham held on to win the match 1-0.
AC Milan’s coach Gattuso was pleased with what he saw. “I’ve been seeing very good things for twenty days of training. I think we’re doing very well.”
For Pochettino, he was very pleased with the play of his young players. “The quality of the time spent training, competing, against good sides. They showed they had the potential.”
Both teams return to Europe on Tuesday to make final preparations for the beginning of their league play and European competitions.
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