AC Milan will make the short trip to take on Como tonight, with Massimiliano Allegri facing off against Cesc Fabregas, his opposite number in more ways than one. As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, the fixture list in the end decided that Como and Milan would face each other twice in just over a month. The first meeting was postponed because of the Supercoppa Italiana, and the reverse will be moved because of the Winter Olympic Games.
It's been that way previously against Los Blancos of course, but in the first 45 particularly, the Catalans were formidable in terms of the way in which they kept the ball. Whether at full tilt or slowing the game down to walking pace, all of the quality came from those in blaugrana. The likes of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong dictated the ebb and flow of the game, with team-mates adept at keeping Real's players at arm's length.
