Milan failed to reach the knockout stages and are completely eliminated from European football. The Italian media point at a poor performance from French goalkeeper Mike Maignan and a mistake from English defender Fikayo Tomori.
The Rossoneri finished bottom in Group B after the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at San Siro, while Atletico Madrid secured a big win against FC Porto and surpassed both teams to leap into the next round.
The Diavolo had given themselves a chance to qualify with a win at the Wanda Metropolitano in the fifth round of fixtures, but the individual mistakes cost them on Tuesday night.
Milan once again dropped a lead to Liverpool after Fikayo Tomori’s opener and are now left with only two domestic competitions and can focus on the Scudetto battle in Italy.
But the Italian papers highlight that the defender gifted Liverpool the 2-1 goal, as the Englishman couldn’t fully fill the void left by injured Simon Kjaer.
Maignan, who was recently out with a wrist injury, has been back in action for a few games and was expected to play an important role in the decisive game against Jürgen Klopp’s men.
But the France international, who showed his worth in the first leg at Anfield, writes the headlines for the wrong reasons this time around.
“He takes the stage, as he did in the first leg, but unfortunately for him he is a negative protagonist,” La Gazzetta dello Sport writes. “Two shots, two rebounds that gift Liverpool a goal.”
Il Corriere dello Sport also highlights his poor intervention on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s attempt, which leads to Mohamed Salah’s goal.
Maignan’s player ratings in the Italian newspapers:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 5
Il Corriere dello Sport: 5.5
Tuttosport: 5.5
Tomori’s player ratings in the Italian newspapers:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 5.5
Il Corriere dello Sport: 5.5
Tuttosport: 5