AC Milan were forced to settle for a point in Minsk as BATE Borisov staged a second-half comeback but still qualified for the last 16.
Italian champions still qualify for the last 16
AC Milan were forced to settle for a point in Minsk as BATE Borisov staged an encouraging comeback in the second half to draw their UEFA Champions League Group H fixture 1-1, but they still qualified for the last 16.
The Italian champions dominated the first half and went ahead in the 22nd minute when Zlatan Ibrahimovic comfortably slotted home Robinho's cross from the right.
The Rossoneri could have doubled their advantage six minutes before the half-time interval when Robinho hit the post from an acute angle.
But BATE fought back strongly in the second period, as Renan Bressan equalised for the Belarusian champions on 55 minutes from the penalty conceded by Ignazio Abate.
The hosts had a number of chances to shock Milan thereafter and Massimiliano Allegri's side too created opportunities to take home maximum points, but it eventually ended all square at the Dinamo Stadion.
Milan start strong
Ibrahimovic and Robinho were a constant threat in the first half with Milan launching attacks from all over the park, but BATE did not roll over and gave the Italian club a tougher test than they might have expected.
Ibrahimovic showed BATE what to expect early on when he played a neat one-two on the edge of the area before firing his shot over the bar.
Rossoneri midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who is currently on loan at the Serie A club from Liverpool, then almost opened the scoring with a 20-yard volley in the seventh minute but it just missed the right post of Aleksandr Gutor's goal.
Despite Milan's early dominance, the home side held their own and Maksim Skavysh's 20-yard shot tested custodian Christian Abbiati.
Antonio Nocerino's header was then blocked by BATE defender Artem Radkov as the seven-time European champions really started to control the play.
Ibrahimovic then went close twice in two minutes when his fierce strike deviated in the air, with Gutor doing well to punch it clear.
However, the striker finally broke the deadlock after some great play with Robinho in the 22nd minute.
Ibrahimovic dispossessed Antonio Nocerino in midfield and passed to Robinho who raced up the right wing and played the ball back to the Swede who slotted the goal across Gutor and into the back of the BATE goal.
BATE almost hit back immediately when a great delivery from Artem Kontsevoy picked out Skavysh in the six-yard box who powerfully headed the ball forced a great save from Christian Abbiati.
Milan remained a constant threat on the counter-attack, with Thiago Silva caught offside as the Serie A club looked to double their lead.
Then in the 39th minute Robinho missed a golden opportunity to score when he raced into the area and beat the entire BATE defence only to fire his shot against the post.
BATE comeback
After the break, BATE upped the tempo and were rewarded when Milan defender Ignazio Abate leaned on Kontsevoy in the area to concede a penalty.
Bressan stepped up and fired a powerful spot-kick low into the bottom corner to beat Abbiati and level the scores in the 55th minute.
Milan almost went back in front in the 76th minute when Kevin-Prince Boateng's shot from the right byline was blocked by Gutor as both sides refused to sit back.
In a dramatic final few minutes, BATE nearly snuck an injury-time winner after a great piece of counter-attacking play, but Skavysh's shot was blocked by Abbiati to leave the match tied.
The result combined with Barcelona's 4-0 away victory over 10-man Viktoria Plzen means that Milan have qualified from the group stages.
| BATE Borisov |
Team Statistics |
Milan |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
10 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
6 |
| 4 |
Corners |
5 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
7 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.7 |
Passing Success |
86.8 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 76.2 |
Tackles Success |
85 |
| 35.1 |
Possession |
64.9 |
| 41.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
58.1 |
| 300 |
Total Passes |
562 |
| 17 |
Total Crosses |
33 |
| 129 |
Lost Balls |
152 |
| 37 |
Recoveries |
70 |
|
