Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali admits the return to San Siro and a standing ovation from Milan fans is ‘something I will remember forever. I never tried to disguise my passion for Milan.’
The player was sold to Newcastle United over the summer for €80m including various add-ons and has made a strong start to his Premier League career.
He was back at San Siro this evening as an opponent and was given a warm welcome from the fans, including chants both during the warm-up and above all when he was substituted to a standing ovation.
“I will bring this embrace of San Siro with me for a very long time,” Tonali told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was something I will remember forever. You expect it to be wonderful, but when you are there, it’s different. The day of the game passed by so quickly, but I tried to enjoy every single minute.
“I cannot disguise my passion for Milan. I didn’t disguise it when I was at Brescia, nor playing for Milan and I won’t now that I am at Newcastle.
“It would not be possible or desirable to hide this passion.”
Despite having only one shot on target to eight, and that was deep into stoppages, Newcastle came away from San Siro with a point in this 0-0 draw.
Considering the tight nature of the group that also includes Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, it is a big setback for Milan to drop two points in this fixture, which on paper should’ve been the easiest.
“This is the most complicated group, as all four teams can quality. The objective coming here was to keep a clean sheet and we achieved that.
“I saw a great Milan team, they are difficult to play against and can run from their box to ours with just a couple of through balls.”