Abhay Singh
During the match against Club Brugge, AC Milan’s substitutes Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze made a significant impact that shifted the game in their team’s favor, as highlighted by coach Paulo Fonseca during his post-match remarks on Tuesday.
This pivotal contribution not only led to AC Milan securing their first Champions League victory of the season but also underlined the crucial role that well-timed substitutions can play in influencing the outcome of a game.
Milan secured its first points in Europe’s elite club competition
Tijjani Reijnders, a Dutch midfielder, scored twice in the second half as Milan defeated the Belgian champions 3-1 at home to earn their first points in Europe’s top club competition.
Okafor replaced midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Chukwueze took the place of striker Rafael Leao, as Fonseca made his first changes of the hour with the score tied at one. Reijnders then restored the advantage and sealed the victory thanks to the replacements.
Fonseca said “The credit goes to the players and mainly to those who came on, They changed the match, changing our game, the intensity.”
“We were up against a team with eleven players that was very deep”
Milan was having trouble against a fierce Brugge team that appeared intent on putting on a strong show at the seven-time European champion’s house.
Fonseca commented “Obviously, in the first half, we didn’t do things well, We were up against a team with eleven players that was very deep, then with numerical inferiority they became even deeper.”
“And we had difficulties in this type of game, in creating and provoking space. Then, when we don’t find the right solution, the game starts to be too slow. When we don’t find space, we need to have a different intensity in our actions. We didn’t do well… I think it was a problem of understanding the game.” He added.
Fonseca substituted 16-year-old Francesco Camarda in the 75th minute with Milan ahead 3-1, but just before the final whistle, his goal was disallowed for offside.
He said “I’m very sorry for the disallowed goal, But it was a beautiful moment for the team, all on the pitch celebrating a child who works so hard. Camarda will have many opportunities to score more goals during his career.”
Camarda, who is 16 years and 226 days old, is the youngest player to make a Champions League debut for Milan.
In addition, he is the youngest Italian player to play in the competition, surpassing the previous record held by Moise Kean, a former Juventus striker who is currently with Fiorentina (16 years, 268 days).
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