Louise Taylor was at San Siro tonight, and her verdict is in. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night. That’s a fine and satisfying result for Newcastle, who go to their fans and return the support they’ve enjoyed all night. Everyone clapping, everyone happy. Not so Milan, who had the majority of the chances, but never seriously looked like tucking one away. Indeed the Toon could easily have nicked it at the end. It would have been a classic smash and grab after a staunch defensive display. That Rafael Leão backheel, though. My oh my. FULL TIME: AC Milan 0-0 Newcastle United The corner is sent in. Sportiello fingertips out for another corner, one which will never be taken, as the whistle blows. Newcastle claim a hard-fought point on their return to the Champions League! 90 min +5: A huge chance for Newacstle right at the end! Almiron drives infield from the right, the Milan defence on the back foot. He finds Anderson to his left. Anderson tees up Longstaff on the edge of the D. Longstaff takes a shy at goal, forcing Sportiello to tip over. One last corner! 90 min +3: Musah threatens to tear clear down the right but is stopped unceremoniously in his tracks by Trippier’s sliding tackle. That’s a stunning intervention at such a late stage. Newcastle want this point all right! 90 min +2: The amount of additional time seems to have been downgraded to five, which will be more music to Newcastle’s ears. 90 min +1: A long throw from the right flank forces a Milan corner. Pulisic takes long. Over everyone’s head. Newcastle push out. “Memories!” trills Charles Antaki. “When Milan were wonderful (not recently), Newcastle were dire (quite recently) and look, is that really Olivier Giroud still playing? Good for him.” 90 min: Harvey Barnes comes on for Isak. There will be six additional minutes. Can the Toon hang on? 89 min: Krunic is booked for losing the rag. 88 min: Or could they grab all three? Almiron romps down the middle on the counter, and should slip Longstaff clear on the overlap on the right … but his pass pushes his team-mate too far wide, forcing Longstaff to cross rather than shoot. The ball squirts to Sportiello who launches a counter of Milan’s own. Giroud pearls a long shot towards the top left, but Pope claims. Breathless basketball stuff! 87 min: Hernandez dribbles down the left channel but is blocked by Anderson. Florenzi crosses from the right but it’s easy for Pope. Pulisic attempts a curler only for Anderson to get in the road again. Newcastle are scrapping hard to keep hold of a precious point. 85 min: Pulisic can’t beat Burn down the right and the ball clanks off his shin. Goal kick. He waves his arms around in disgust, wanting a corner. The home crowd whistle in impotent irritation. Milan’s frustration is betraying them. 83 min: Musah works some space down the right but his cross is cleared easily enough. Giroud competes for the loose ball, jumping into Longstaff. It’s a garden-variety foul, but Giroud argues the toss with the referee a bit too energetically, and is booked for his lip. 82 min: Musah is booked for a cynical barge into the back of an in-flight Bruno Guimaraes. The free kick’s launched long into the Milan box by Trippier, but Burn can’t get on the end of it. Goal kick. 81 min: Maignan pops back up, but only with a view to limping off the pitch. Marco Sportiello comes on to replace him. 79 min: Maignan goes down having pulled something while kicking long. Looks like the Milan keeper won’t be able to see out the match. On comes the physio. 78 min: Florenzi has been dangerous since coming on, and sends in another cross from the right. At the far stick, Leao leaves it to Hernandez, who shins out high and wide for a goal kick. 77 min: Almiron attempts to counter down the right flank. He nearly gets clear, too, but Tomori isn’t in the mood to give an inch as the pair tussle, and eventually overpowers his man. Both teams appear to have suddenly decided that a winner would be so very precious in this group of death. 76 min: The corner’s pulled back to Hernandez, who creams a low shot that’s blocked and cleared. Milan taking it up a notch here. 75 min: Musah jinks his way past Anderson down the right. The ball’s worked towards Leao, steaming in from the other flank. Almiron does extremely well to get back, stretch out a leg, and divert the ball out for a corner. 74 min: Florenzi picks up the pace, storming down the right and whipping a cross towards Leao, who flicks a cute header towards the top left from 12 yards. Inches over the bar. That would have been a fine goal. 72 min: Elliot Anderson comes on for erstwhile Milan star Sandro Tonali, who departs to a warm ovation from his old fans. 71 min: Looks like Loftus-Cheek twisted his ankle upon crossing. He’s replaced by the USA international Yunus Musah. 70 min: Loftus-Cheek works his way down the right and crosses low. Another easy job for Pope. Loftus-Cheek goes down, holding his leg. It doesn’t look as though he’s able to continue. 68 min: Hernandez floats an aimless ball into the Newcastle box from the left. Nowhere in red and black near it. Pope gathers the waft as the denizens of San Siro sigh. Newcastle will be very happy with the way this second half is going. Pope’s not been pressed into action since the break at all. 66 min: Wilson’s first contribution is the hassling of Thiaw down the Newcastle right. He forces the Milan defender into clanking clumsily out of play for a throw, deep in his own territory. No long throw from Trippier, though, which is something of a disappointment, and the Milan box remains unthreatened. 64 min: Reijnders twinkles his toes to make a little bit of space on the edge of the Newcastle box. He attempts to shape a shot into the bottom right, but doesn’t get enough power or curl on the effort and it’s an easy snaffle for Pope, who hasn’t had much to do since the restart. 63 min: Newcastle respond with a double change of their own. Callum Wilson and Miguel Almirón replace Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon. 62 min: Pulisic’s first act is to send a hopeless cross in from the right. He has the good grace to look sheepish. 61 min: A double change by Milan. Christian Pulišić and Tijjani Reijnders replace Samu Chukwueze and Tommaso Pobega. 59 min: A slight lull, so here’s Edward Ricketts with his Fact of the Match. “The word for ‘Magpie’ in Italian is ‘una gazza’. Seems very fitting.” 57 min: Botman heads the free kick half-clear, then Tonali completes the job. 56 min: Chukwueze jinks down the right and draws a foul from Tonali, who is fortunate not to go into the book for the cynical tug back. Nothing comes from the resulting free kick, but Guimaraes soon grapples Hernandez to the floor out on the other flank and Milan will get a second go at bothering Newcastle from a set piece. 54 min: Trippier holds no grudges and finds Murphy down the right. Murphy slings in a fine cross, hoping to find Isak, but Maignan comes off his line decisively and punches clear with confidence. Fine play all round. 52 min: Florenzi drifts in from the right and scampers upfield. He’s got Hernandez in space to his side, but like Murphy before him, decides to take on the shot himself instead. He dribbles weakly wide right of the Newcastle goal, then receives an educational salvo from his team-mate. 51 min: Gordon releases Murphy down the inside-right channel. He’s got Trippier in acres on the overlap, but opts instead to blaze wildly over the bar. Trippier gives him the what-for. “Did you know that Leão is also a rapper and releases his music under the name WAY 45?” asks Justin Kavanagh, setting himself up for a zinger. “The left-winger will be lucky not to be well on his WAY to a P45 if he carries on with that nonsense.” (For the benefit of older readers, rap is a genre where people talk over the music.) 49 min: Schar is booked for elbowing Pobega on the back of the head while challenging for a high ball. Having won the header, he looks perplexed. 47 min: Gordon battles to win possession on the edge of the Milan box. He lays off to Tonali, who attempts a curler into the top right. Blocked, but a decent effort nonetheless. Milan get the second half underway. They’ve made a change at right back, captain Davide Calabria, on a booking, making way for Alessandro Florenzi. “I hope the Milan fans will forgive Leão the sin of showboating at the wrong time. If it’s any consolation to the Portuguese international, the Pope has absolved him wholeheartedly. (The Newcastle goalie version, anyway. Not sure about the Vatican one.)” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the bread and wine. … and here it is, your half-time entertainment. Enjoy, enjoy. HALF TIME: AC Milan 0-0 Newcastle United After three seconds of added time, the referee blows his whistle. Newcastle will be happy with their staunch efforts. Milan will be frustrated not to be leading, because they certainly should be: you’ll enjoy Rafael Leao’s elegant dribble and Keystone-Studios-influenced backheel when you see it. 45 min: Chukwueze dribbles hard down the right but Gordon doesn’t give an inch. 44 min: Milan knock it about to little effect. The home supporters continue to betray a light restlessness. 42 min: A few whistles from the San Siro faithful. It’ll be sweet music to Eddie Howe’s lugs. 40 min: Calabria gets right up in the referee’s grille when the referee refuses to award his team a free kick, and goes into the book for his trouble. No home-captain’s privileges here. 38 min: To be fair to Leao, he doesn’t let his head drop in the wake of that prime eejitry. In fact he uses it to guide the ball across the face of goal, left to right, in an attempt to tee up Giroud at the far stick. Giroud prepares to force home from close range, only to be legally bumped out of harm’s way by Botman. 36 min: Milan should be leading. What a fiasco. What on earth was Leao thinking about? Utterly preposterous. It wasn’t quite in the Mario Balotelli league, but it wasn’t far off. 34 min: Trippier sends a free kick into the Milan box from the left. Maignan punches clear powerfully. Milan counter through Leao, who dribbles elegantly into space from the left. He enters the box, sits Longstaff down, and makes space to shoot from six yards. He’ll surely score … but with only Pope to beat, attempts a ludicrous backheel instead, and trips over his own feet. What daft nonsense! Dear me. Pobega tries to salvage the situation with a low drive, but Murphy hacks off the line.