AC Milan crash out Champions League despite Gimenez making history

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Hernandez sent off  

©IMAGO

AC Milan have crashed out of the Champions League after a shock 2-1 aggregate defeat to Feyenoord. The Dutch side traveled to Italy for the second-leg of their play-off with a 1-0 advantage but they were without a host of key first-team players and a caretaker manager in the dugout. And it looked ominous for Feyenoord when Santiago Gimenez made history by scoring against his former club after just one minute.

Gimenez – who joined AC Milan from Feyenoord in January – became the first player to score for and against the same team in a single Champions League season tonight. But it would end in immense disappointment for the Mexican international as the narrative of the night swung after Theo Hernández deservedly picked up a second booking on 51 minutes for simulation. Feyenoord capatilised on their man advantage when Gimenez’s former understudy Julian Carranza scored on 73 minutes to send the Dutch side into the last 16. It was a special night for Feyenoord as they overcame huge adversity and there was another interesting angle as former MLS player Carranza knocked out AC Milan – with owners from the United States.

It was a hugely disappointing night for AC Milan as they were heavy favourites to progress, especially against a severely-depleted Feyenoord side. AC were busy in the January transfer window, adding the likes of Kyle Walker,  Joao Felix and Gimenez. But they became the most valuable squad (€570 million) to be eliminated from the Champions League this season – RB Leipzig previously held that title at €527m