AC Milan laid waste to their lowly record in Czechia with a 3-1 hammering of Slavia Prague to keep their hopes of silverware alive and progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.Chasing a fourth European quarter-final in six seasons, Slavia Prague, similarly to the first leg, started the game well and would have gone ahead in the 13th minute but for the boot of Mike Maignan, who denied Mojmír Chytil at the near post. Yet, in almost identical fashion to the match in Milan last week, Slavia’s ill-discipline cost them and in the 15th minute, they were reduced to 10 men for the second time in the tie. In an attempt to shield the ball from Davide Calabria, Tomáš Holeš appeared to stamp on the AC Milan captain and after a lengthy look at VAR, referee Glenn Nyberg agreed, brandishing the red card.
Much is made about the fact that Milan have a history of throwing away big leads in European ties, but if being 4-2 ahead on aggregate wasn’t enough, the dismissal really knocked the wind out of a spirited Slavia side. Červenobílí then fell further behind in the tie on 33 minutes when Christian Pulisic capitalised on the one-man advantage to open the scoring. Rafael Leão played the ball across the box and the former Chelsea man turned neatly before finishing into the bottom corner. A mere three minutes later, Milan had a second when Theo Hernández created the opportunity with a clever one-two on the left-hand side, firing a ball across the six-yard box where Ruben Loftus-Cheek was lurking to tap in his fourth goal in three successive Europa League starts.Before kick-off, the Rossoneri had only won on two of their six trips to Czechia but a Leão stunner, in first-half injury time, effectively put the game and the tie to bed. The Portuguese star received the ball from Pulisic 25 yards from goal, cut inside onto his right foot, and unleashed an unsavable strike into the top corner to make it 7-2 on aggregate before halftime.Last season’s Champions League semi-finalists are still seeking a first-ever Europa League title and Olivier Giroud could have put the icing on the cake in the 64th minute but the Frenchman, bearing down on goal, opted for a no-look effort that went horribly wrong. It seemed the Slavia ultras did not take kindly to Milan’s showboating and showcased their displeasure causing a break in play after throwing objects at Hernández as the full-back tried to take a corner.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Slavia did manage to give the home crowd something positive to shout about in the 84th minute. Matěj Jurásek spun inside the 18-yard box before arrowing a strike into the bottom corner to preserve some semblance of dignity on the night. Ultimately, Milan’s dominance across both ties came courtesy of Slavia’s two sending-offs but the ruthless nature in which Milan clinically despatched the Czech side will do no harm to their hopes of lifting a first Europa League trophy in their history.UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – ROUND OF 16Second legThursday Slavia Praha – AC Milan 1-3 (0-2)/Jurasek 85 – Pulisic 34, Loftus-Cheek 36, Leao 45+6/AC Milan win 7-3 on aggregateVillareal – Olympique Marseille 3-1 (1-0)/Capoue 32, Sorloth 54, Mosquera 88 – Clauss 90+4/Marseille win 5-3 on aggregateRangers – Benfica 0-1 (0-0)/Rafa SIlva 66/Benfica win 3-2 on aggregateWest Ham – Freiburg 5-0 (2-0)/Paqueta 9, Bowen 32, Creswell 52, Kudus 77, 85/West Ham win 5-1 on aggregate23.00: (1.20) Leverkusen (7.25) Qarabag (12.0)23.00: (1.30) Liverpool (5.90) Sparta Praha (9.00)23.00: (1.80) Brighton (3.60) Roma (4.60)23.00: (2.00) Atalanta (3.50) Sporting (3.70)***odds are subject to change***