Following their seismic upset in the opening round of the Champions League, Dinamo Zagreb will take on AC Milan at San Siro on Wednesday in an attempt to claim yet another significant victory.
A seemingly wide open Group E continues with the hosts having won with 10 men at the weekend; the visitors arrive in Italy coming off of six straight victories. This is especially true after Dinamo's victory against Chelsea and Milan's draw in Salzburg.
Milan began their most recent quest for an eighth European championship last week as Italian champions after their regrettable group-stage exit upon their long-anticipated Champions League comeback last year.
The Rossoneri eventually overcame years of futility by defeating Inter to win the Scudetto in May, and they are now hungry to carry domestic success onto the continental scene. However, they were beaten to a 1-1 draw by RB Salzburg after a hard-fought match in Austria.
However, Stefano Pioli's team has won back-to-back games in Serie A over the past two weeks, as they followed up their derby day success over Inter with a valiant comeback away against Sampdoria on Saturday night.
Milan, who had outstanding character, struggled for the majority of the second half at Stadio Luigi Ferraris with just 10 players after star player Rafael Leao received a second card for elevating his boot dangerously high.
Olivier Giroud, a seasoned striker, stepped up to save three points by converting a penalty and helped his teammates cling on until the final whistle for a 2-1 victory when their driving power on the left flank was absent.
Aiming to improve their dismal home record in the Champions League over the previous ten years—no victories from six games there since defeating Celtic in 2013—Milan, who is now third in the Italian top division and will play first-place Napoli this weekend, return to San Siro.