AC Milan boss Max Allegri insists his side’s qualification for the UEFA Champions League final 16 is “just reward” after a tough group campaign.
The Italians progressed into the knockout stage with a 3-1 win at Anderlecht on Wednesday after goals from Stephan El Shaarawy, Philippe Mexes and Alexandre Pato.
The club’s progress came after they had claimed just five points from their opening four games.
“Qualification is just reward for the players, they fully deserve it. We achieved our first objective of the season with a match to spare, so the players did very well,” Allegri said.
“We knew it would not be easy tonight and though we started well, we were in too much of a hurry searching for the final ball – we lacked a bit of accuracy.”
The highlight of the game was Mexes’ stunning goal where he acrobatically scissor kicked the ball into the top corner.
“Philippe Mexès scored a great goal. I was expecting to see the ball sail wide and was surprised when I saw it in the back of the net,” Allegri said.
“It was a great goal but also a great performance by Mexes.”