Allegri hails AC Milan heroes but warns job is far from over

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri said he always believed his players could beat Barcelona as they pulled off a 2-0 shock in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash last night.

But the Rossoneri boss warned the tie is far from over, admitting: “We’ll need to score in the Camp Nou.”

Despite Barca dominating possession, the Serie A underdogs bravely held firm at the back, before second half goals — from Stephan El Shaarawy on the counter attack and a stunning finish to a flowing move from former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Al Muntari — sealed a stunning win.

Allegri praise his players for their efforts, saying he always had faith in them: “It was a well deserved victory. We won an important game against Barcelona, which I believed in and nobody else did.”

Despite Milan appearing to have one foot in the quarter final, Allegri knows the job is only half done as a fierce challenge awaits in the second leg at Camp Nou.

“At the moment this result is not enough to qualify us, so we hope to get a positive result at the Camp Nou too,” explained the Italian.

“We have to score, they have a home in impressive scoring average... we’ll need to score at the Camp Nou.”

Lionel Messi had one of his rare off days in last night’s clash, failing to find a shot on goal for only the second time this season.

Barcelona had not lost by two goals since a 3-1 defeat to Real Betis in the Copa del Rey on January 2011.