UEFA Champions League 2022-23, AC Milan reach knockouts: Key stats
AC Milan have booked their berth in the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 round of 16. Milan humbled Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 on matchday six to finish second in Group E behind leaders Chelsea. Olivier Giroud scored a brace for Milan, who became the third Italian team to reach the knockouts of the UCL 2022-23 season. Here are the key stats.
Milan progress for the first time in 8 years
Milan, who reached the round of 16 for the first time in 8 years, saw Giroud heading in an early opener before assisting Rade Krunic. Giroud then drilled in his second in the 57th minute as Milan saw Junio Messias wrapping it up with a solo goal in stoppage time. Milan had 15 attempts with seven of them being on target.
How did Group E pan out?
Chelsea overcame Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 with goals from Raheem Sterling and Denis Zakaria. For Zagreb, Bruno Petkovic had scored the opener in the seventh minute. Chelsea finished atop with 13 points from six games. Milan followed suit with 10 points (W3 D1 L2). Salzburg, who took third place, are demoted to the Europa League (6 points). Zagreb finished fourth, being winless in five games.
Olivier Giroud claims these numbers
As per Opta, Giroud (36 years and 33 days) is the oldest player to be involved in 3+ goals in a Champions League match (4) since collection of data since 2003-04. Giroud now has four UCL goals this season, besides two assists. Across competitions, he has eight goals and four assists. Overall for Milan, he has netted 22 goals, besides clocking seven assists.
Tonali scripts this UCL record
Aged 22 years and 178 days, Sandro Tonali has become the youngest AC Milan player to deliver an assist in two consecutive Champions League appearances since 2003-04 when official data came into effect.
Giroud shines for Milan: Presenting his match stats
Giroud shined for Milan at the San Siro on matchday six. As per Squawka, Giroud clocked 8 touches in the opposition box. He won 5 duels, four aerial duels, registered three shots, created two chances, besides making two assists and scoring twice.
More records for Milan
As per Opta, both sides from Milan have reached the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2011-12. Milan have now won successive UCL games for the first time since October 2011.
