Under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was relieved after his side’s impressive 2-0 Europa League last 16, first-leg victory at AC Milan on Thursday, following a “nightmare” week.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan drove Arsenal into a 15th-minute lead with his first goal for the club, and a shell-shocked Milan fell further behind before half-time as Aaron Ramsey waltzed through to score.
Wenger desperately needed a positive result after coming under pressure for a run of four straight defeats, and he got just that against a Milan side who saw a 13-match unbeaten run ended.
“It is an important win of course after we had a nightmare week,” the 68-year-old Frenchman told BT Sport.
“I am happy with the spirit and response we gave. When you are knocked down like a boxer you don’t have time to react and you are only halfway up, but you have to respond.
“Your pride and desire to show quality has to come through in the game.”
Gennaro Gattuso’s seven-time European champions now have it all to do ahead of the second leg at the Emirates in seven days’ time.
But Arsenal, 13 points adrift of the top four in the Premier League, will be confident of continuing their bid to return to the Champions League by winning Europe’s second-tier competition for the first time.
“Overall it is important to win, but it is not qualification. We have to finish the job at home,” Wenger added.
Arsenal started brightly at the San Siro but were lucky not to concede a penalty when Hakan Calhanoglou stayed on his feet despite appearing to have been fouled by onrushing Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.
Just moments later Arsenal broke the deadlock, as Mesut Ozil fed Armenian Mkhitaryan, a January signing from Manchester United, to cut inside and fire in a shot which deflected past home keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma off Leonardo Bonucci.
The Gunners grew in confidence after that strike, with Donnarumma making two good saves late in the opening period to deny Calum Chambers and Danny Welbeck, before Mkhitaryan hit the crossbar.
But the visitors did double their advantage before the interval, as Ramsey ran onto Ozil’s perfectly-weighted through ball and rounded Donnarumma to tap into an empty net.
Milan improved in the second half, but wasted their best chances, failing to truly test Ospina.
Giacomo Bonaventura scooped a shot over when he should have done better, while Suso drilled a left-footed strike out for a throw-in.
Colombian keeper Ospina did well to beat Nikola Kalinic to a through ball when the substitute looked to be in on goal, as Arsenal closed out a much-needed win.
Borussia Dortmund slumped to a shock first-leg 2-1 loss at home to Salzburg, although Andre Schurrle’s second-half strike did cut the deficit ahead of next week’s return game in Austria.
Kosovo international Valon Berisha scored twice shortly after half-time to put Salzburg in control, the first from the penalty spot, and leave German giants Dortmund facing a surprise exit.
La Liga title challengers Atletico Madrid eased to a 3-0 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Diego Simeone’s side, who were dumped out of the Champions League in the group stage after finishing behind Roma and Chelsea, put themselves in a dominant position thanks to goals from Saul Niguez, Diego Costa and Koke.
Spanish international Costa has now scored six goals for Atletico since returning to the club from Chelsea in January.
Brazilian defender Marcelo scored the only goal as last season’s semi-finalists Lyon grabbed a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow, as they look to go one better this term with the final at their Groupama Stadium.
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE
First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
Engine: 5-litre V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 505Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km
Price: Dh260,500
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.