Plauderecke » Diego Costa headed in Gabis corner seven minutes

MILAN, Italy -- Atletico Madrid struggled throughout but managed to win 1-0 at AC Milan thanks to a late Diego Costa header in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday. Diego Costa headed in Gabis corner seven minutes from time to secure victory ahead of the return match in Madrid on March 11. "We know that at Madrid it will be another game, which will also be important and very difficult," Milan coach Clarence Seedorf said. "Atletico dont change much whether theyre playing at home or away from home. "We have time to prepare the return leg and well have more players back. Im proud of what we did tonight... I saw a lot of positive things on the pitch." Bayern Munich won 2-0 at 10-man Arsenal in the other match of the night. Both teams missed a penalty in the first half, which also saw Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny sent off. Milan had dominated the match with its best performance of the season, hitting the woodwork three times in an entertaining first half hour. "We are a normal team, a very humble one which tries to do as well as we can," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "We started better but then Milan caused us problems. "We didnt have many chances but as you know in football what matters is scoring goals and fortunately we scored a goal." Spains joint league leader was the overwhelming favourite but Milan was the superior side and had the better chances in Seedorfs first Champions League match as a manager. The Dutchman is the only player to have won the competition with three different clubs. There was more bad news on the night for Milan as star striker Mario Balotelli went off clutching his shoulder 12 minutes from time. The Italy forward will have tests on Thursday. Milan was boosted by key playmaker Kaka recovering from injury in time and the Brazilian was given the captains armband. Kaka overcame a bout of flu to play in Fridays 1-0 victory over Bologna but had to be replaced 10 minutes from time after injuring his right ankle. Stephan El Shaarawy, Valter Birsa, Robinho, Bryan Cristante and Cristian Zapata were all out with injury while Sulley Muntari and captain Riccardo Montolivo were both suspended. New signing Keisuke Honda is cup tied. Milan was the underdog after a miserable season which saw coach Massimiliano Allegri sacked at the beginning of the year. The side is ninth in the Serie A table and had been eliminated in each of its past four knockout ties against Spanish opposition. It appeared as if Milans fears were to be realized as the players struggled to get out of their own half in the opening 10 minutes. However, Milan was containing Atletico and slowly began to get into the game. Balotelli had the first real chance of the match with a 30-meter free-kick from roughly the same position that he scored a stunning goal from on Friday. But the Italy forward fired well wide of the left post. Milan went even closer four minutes later with a wickedly swerving shot from Kaka from the bottom corner of the penalty area which crashed off the crossbar. Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois -- who is on loan from Chelsea -- pulled off a stunning save shortly afterwards, fingertipping Andrea Polis header off the base of his right post after a great cross from Adel Taarabt. Tension was beginning to escalate at San Siro and a touchline brawl threatened to erupt following a poor Emiliano Insua tackle on Mattia De Scglio. The Milan defender had to be replaced by Ignazio Abate. Milan again went close on the half hour when Balotelli backeeled the ball to Kaka, whose effort scraped the top of the crossbar. Milan continued to dominate after the break and Kaka again went close with a drive narrowly past the left upright, while Michael Essien headed a corner wide. All Milans good work was to come to nothing, though, as Diego Costa headed powerfully home at the far post for his fifth goal in four Champions League matches. Milan almost snatched a draw but Adil Ramis free kick whistled wide of the left post. Scarpe Stan Smith Outlet . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. Stan Smith Outlet Italia . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. http://www.stansmithscontate.it/. Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Stan Smith Scontate Uomo . A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. Stan Smith Scontate . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics.SAO PAULO - Brazil assistant coach and former world champion Carlos Alberto Parreira says its "a joke" that the Brazilian government took so long to start working on some of the infrastructure projects needed for the World Cup. With less than five months before the tournament, Parreira said he is disappointed with the countrys preparations and accused the government of missing a huge opportunity to improve conditions for Brazilians. Parreira told Radio CBN in an interview first aired Sunday that he believes stadiums will be ready in time, but its a shame most infrastructure projects that could benefit Brazilians wont be completed until long after the World Cup. The World Cup-winning coach in 1994 is the latest past champion to blast Brazils preparations, following the recent criticism by former players Cafu, Bebeto and Rivaldo. "We missed an opportunity to show the world what we can do in this country," Parreira said. "We missed an opportunity to provide more comfort to Brazilians and to show a different kind of Brazil." The country has only seven of the 12 World Cup stadiums ready for the tournament that opens in June, and there are still doubts whether Curitiba will remain a host city because of delays in its stadium. But the greatest missed opportunities are related to the infrastructure work that was supposed to remain a legacy to the countrys population. Many of the projects promised by the government will not be completed in time or wont even leave the drawing board. "We know the World Cup is about stadiums, but its not only about stadiums. Fans cant live in a stadium," Parreira said. "They say everything will eventually be ready in 2018, 20020.dddddddddddd.. but we wanted it ready for the World Cup to try to change this view that the foreigners have about Brazil." Parreira said the government is mostly to blame. "Everything was supposed to be ready for the World Cup, but it was a total neglect," he said. "I saw recently that they are going to start the bidding processes for (work at) airports in March, three months before the World Cup. Its a joke. We won the bid seven years ago and its only now that they are starting these bidding processes." Parreira, who also coached Brazil in the 2006 World Cup, made some specific complaints about Rio de Janeiro, the city hosting the 2016 Olympics. "Rio will always continue to attract tourists. Its a wonderful city. I cant think of a city that is more beautiful than Rio," said the 70-year-old Parreira, an assistant to Luiz Felipe Scolari. "But we all know that it could offer us a lot more comfort, a lot more safety and a better quality of life." Brazil is expected to spend a total of about $14 billion in the World Cup, and the lack of government improvements to society prompted violent protests during the Confederations Cup last year. There were some demonstrations on Saturday in dozens of cities, and a lot more is expected during the World Cup, footballs showcase event. Cafu and Bebeto, World Cup winners with Parreira in 1994, last week said it would be a disaster if Curitiba was dropped because of the stadium delay there. Rivaldo, the former Barcelona midfielder who was key for Brazil when the five-time champion won the 2002 World Cup, said the country will "embarrass itself" because of its problematic preparations. 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