Soccer Football - Champions League - AC Milan v Club Brugge - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 22, 2024 AC Milan's Noah Okafor celebrates after the match REUTERS/Claudia Greco
MILAN (Reuters) - AC Milan substitutes Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze changed the game in their favour, coach Paulo Fonseca said on Tuesday after they beat Club Brugge to claim their first Champions League win of the season.
Milan secured their first points in Europe's elite club competition with a 3-1 home victory over the Belgian champions as Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders scored twice in the second half.
With the game level at 1-1, Fonseca made his first changes on the hour as Okafor came on for midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Chukwueze replaced striker Rafael Leao, with the substitutes setting up Reijnders to restore the lead and, subsequently, seal the win.
"The credit goes to the players and mainly to those who came on," Fonseca told a press conference.
"They changed the match, changing our game, the intensity."
Milan were struggling against an aggressive Brugge side, who looked determined to put on a powerful performance at the home of the seven-time European champions.
"Obviously, in the first half, we didn't do things well," Fonseca said.
"We were up against a team with eleven players that was very deep, then with numerical inferiority they became even deeper.
"And we had difficulties in this type of game, in creating and provoking space.
"Then, when we don't find the right solution, the game starts to be too slow. When we don't find space, we need to have a different intensity in our actions. We didn't do well... I think it was a problem of understanding the game."
With Milan leading 3-1, Fonseca brought on 16-year-old Francesco Camarda in the 75th minute and he had a goal ruled out for offside shortly before the final whistle.
"I'm very sorry for the disallowed goal," Fonseca added. "But it was a beautiful moment for the team, all on the pitch celebrating a child who works so hard.
"Camarda will have many opportunities to score more goals during his career."
At 16 years and 226 days, Camarda is the youngest player to have made their debut for Milan in the Champions League.
He is also the youngest Italian player to feature in the competition, having surpassed the previous mark that belonged to former Juventus forward, currently at Fiorentina, Moise Kean (16 years, 268 days).
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
