Milan Triumphs 3-1 Over Real Madrid: Player Ratings Revealed

Real Madrid fell to a second consecutive home defeat on Tuesday evening as they were thoroughly beaten 3-1 by AC Milan in the Champions League.

An entertaining first half piled more pressure on Carlo Ancelotti's side after their Clasico demolition, with Vinicius Junior's penalty sandwiched in between a header from Malick Thiaw and tap-in from Alvaro Morata.

Milan were much the better side in the Spanish capital and produced a clinching third goal in the 73rd minute as Tijjani Reijnders lashed home from close range to punish a dismal Madrid performance.

The competition's two most successful sides share 22 Champions League and European Cup titles but Madrid entered their first duel in 14 years as strong favourites. Having been thrashed by Barcelona in their most recent outing, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd was expecting drastic improvements from Los Blancos for the visit of Milan.

However, it was more misery in the first half for the home supporters, with Milan edging in front in the 12th minute. Christian Pulisic's excellent corner was headed home by Thiaw at the near post and Mike Maignan helped the visitors retain their lead with quickfire saves from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius shortly after the restart.

Madrid responded quickly to falling behind, stepping up the intensity and winning a penalty just nine minutes after the opener. Vinicius was felled in the area by a lunging Emerson Royal and the Brazilian winger tucked home the subsequent spot kick, calmly passing the ball down the middle to level proceedings.

But the reigning European champions remained some way off their best despite the equaliser and they were punished for some lackadaisical defending before half-time. A wayward pass from Aurelien Tchouameni was pounced upon by Milan and Rafael Leao's parried strike was converted from close range by former Madrid striker Morata.

Ancelotti made two alterations at the break as Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz entered the fray but the duo were unable to turn the tide. Milan continued to stifle a toothless Madrid and pose problems on the counter-attack, Leao forcing Andriy Lunin into an athletic save seven minutes after the restart.

Jude Bellingham and Mbappe both had chances to equalise around the hour mark but produced wasteful finishes characteristic of their seasons. Morata almost punished their sloppiness at the other end but his near-post flick caught the outside of the post.

Milan eventually did take advantage of their dominance following another swift counter-attack. A flowing move down the left-hand side saw Leao burst towards the byline, pulling back for Reijnders to fire home from close range and put daylight between the Italian giants and their hosts. Milan continued to slice through the Spanish champions at will.

Madrid thought they had been handed a lifeline in the closing ten minutes as Antonio Rudiger produced a stunning finish following Maignan's poor punched clearance. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was chalked off for offside.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Diaz spurned opportunities to score late in the match for their respective sides, but Milan held on for a deserved victory at the Bernabeu following another underwhelming Madrid performance on home soil.