AC Milan Youth Win First Leg Against Newcastle United In UEFA Youth League

Young Rossoneri secure 2-0 advantage ahead of second leg

Goals from Marko Lazetic and Gabriele Alesi seal victory for Milan

AC Milan's Under-19 side have taken a significant step towards the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League after securing a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the first leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday afternoon.

Marko Lazetic opened the scoring for the Rossoneri in the 20th minute, before Gabriele Alesi doubled their lead just before the hour mark.

The result leaves Milan in a strong position ahead of the second leg, which will be played at St. James' Park on March 8.

Milan started the game brightly and took the lead early on when Lazetic finished off a fine move involving Tommaso Pobega and Lorenzo Colombo.

The young Rossoneri continued to dominate possession and created several more chances to extend their lead, but they were unable to find the back of the net again before the break.

Newcastle improved after the interval and had a couple of good chances to level the score, but they were unable to beat Milan goalkeeper Alessandro Plizzari.

Milan then sealed the victory in the 58th minute when Alesi finished off a cross from Pobega.

The Rossoneri will now be confident of finishing the job in the second leg and booking their place in the quarter-finals.

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Milan coach Federico Giunti was delighted with his team's performance.

"I'm very happy with the result and the performance of the team," he said.

"We played with great intensity and created a lot of chances. We could have scored more goals, but I'm happy with the 2-0 win."

Newcastle coach Ben Dawson was disappointed with the result, but he praised his team for their effort.

"We're disappointed with the result, but I'm proud of the players for the way they played," he said.

"We had a good spell in the second half, but we couldn't find the goal we needed.

We'll need to be better in the second leg, but we're still in the tie."