February 16, (THEWILL) – AC Milan claimed a convincing 3-0 home win over French side Stade Rennais in the first leg of their Europa League playoff clash on Thursday evening.
Goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who scored two headers, and Rafael Leao gave Milan a comfortable lead to take into next week’s second leg in France.
Milan dominated the match and prevented Rennes from having many goal-scoring opportunities. The Italian giants will be disappointed not to have won by an even greater margin, such was their superiority on the night. Desperate defending from the visitors kept the scoreline respectable.
There was a surprise result in Portugal as Azerbaijan’s Qarabag stunned hosts Sporting Braga with an emphatic 4-2 victory. This shock away win gives Qarabag an excellent chance of progressing to the Europa League round of 16 when the teams meet again for the second leg.
In Thursday’s other late matches, Angel Di Maria was the hero for Benfica as his two converted penalties earned the Portuguese side a 2-1 home win over struggling French outfit Toulouse. Meanwhile, Racing Lens and Freiburg played out a goalless draw in their first-leg clash in northern France.
Both Milan and Qarabag have given themselves strong platforms to advance to the next stage. However, Benfica and Lens will need big performances in their second-leg ties to go through.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
