AC Milan substitutes Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze changed the game in its favour, coach Paulo Fonseca said on Tuesday after it beat Club Brugge to claim its first Champions League win of the season.
Milan secured its first points in Europe’s elite club competition with a 3-1 home victory over the Belgian champions as Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders scored twice in the second half.
With the game level at 1-1, Fonseca made his first changes on the hour as Okafor came on for midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Chukwueze replaced striker Rafael Leao, with the substitutes setting up Reijnders to restore the lead and, subsequently, seal the win.
“The credit goes to the players and mainly to those who came on,” Fonseca told a press conference.
“They changed the match, changing our game, the intensity.”
Milan was struggling against an aggressive Brugge side, who looked determined to put on a powerful performance at the home of the seven-time European champion.
“Obviously, in the first half, we didn’t do things well,” Fonseca said.
“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.
Report | Reijnders scores twice as Milan downs Brugge 3-1
“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.”
With Milan leading 3-1, Fonseca brought on 16-year-old Francesco Camarda in the 75th minute and he had a goal ruled out for offside shortly before the final whistle.
“I’m very sorry for the disallowed goal,” Fonseca added. “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.”
At 16 years and 226 days, Camarda is the youngest player to have made debut for Milan in the Champions League.
He is also the youngest Italian player to feature in the competition, having surpassed the previous mark that belonged to former Juventus forward, currently at Fiorentina, Moise Kean (16 years, 268 days).
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