Champions League: Reijnders leads AC Milan to crucial 3-1 victory over Club Brugge

Tijjani Reijnders was the star of AC Milan’s 3-1 victory over 10-man Club Brugge at the San Siro on Tuesday, netting a crucial brace that kick-started their Champions League campaign.

After Christian Pulisic opened the scoring directly from a 34th-minute corner, Brugge equalized early in the second half through Kyriani Sabbe.

Despite the Belgian side playing with 10 men following Raphael Onyedika’s 40th-minute red card for a reckless challenge, Milan struggled until Reijnders’ two composed finishes in the 61st and 71st minutes secured the win.

A late header by 16-year-old Francesco Camarda, which would have made him the youngest scorer in the competition’s history, was ruled offside.

The victory was key for Milan as they prepare to face Real Madrid in their next group stage match, with the win keeping their knockout phase hopes alive.

However, the match was overshadowed by a flat atmosphere at the San Siro, as fans protested against high ticket prices, with some seats for upcoming fixtures costing as much as 479 euros.

The major supporters club AIMC, which is affiliated with Milan and brings together tens of thousands of fans, blasted the club for its ticketing policy which it claims is favouring “rich foreign tourists or casual fans”.

Only 58,649 people showed up for Tuesday’s match, way down on the more than 70,000 fans that usually pack into San Siro for both Milan and Inter’s Serie A matches.

“We’re not cows to be milked, we’re not just here to fill the stadium for the lesser matches, we’re not just here to fill the club museum or San Siro’s car parks with 120 coaches every time we play at home,” said AIMC in an angry statement released on Tuesday.

Fans will watch with interest developments in the latest joint efforts with Inter Milan to build a new stadium near the current San Siro which was announced earlier on Tuesday.

One of the criticisms of the previous project which was abandoned by the two clubs last year was a drastic reduction in capacity and increase in high-priced hospitality seating.