EUROPA LEAGUE: OUR CAMPAIGN BEGINS AWAY TO SHAMROCK ROVERS

The draw for the second preliminary round of Europa League qualification took place today in Nyon. As one of the seeded teams, AC Milan have been drawn against Shamrock Rovers. Coach Pioli and his side will begin their 2020/21 Europa League campaign at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, seeing as the Rossoneri were drawn after their opponents. Shamrock Rovers v AC Milan will take place on Thursday 17 September (kick-off time TBC) in a one-legged knockout tie, with the match being played behind closed doors.

Our Irish opposition play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The 2020 season is still underway in Ireland, having only kicked off in mid-February before being put on hold at the start of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with proceedings then resumed at the end of July. After nine games played, Stephen Bradley’s men sit top of the table on 23 points (seven wins and two draws, 20 goals scored and six conceded). They won both the FAI Cup and the national cup in 2019, being knocked out of last year’s Europa League in the second preliminary round after losing to Apollon Limassol in extra time.

Here are some facts about Shamrock Rovers v AC Milan:

• This is the first-ever official meeting between AC Milan and Shamrock Rovers.
• The Rossoneri are unbeaten in their two European matches against Irish opposition, both of which came against Athlone Town in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup round of 32: a 0-0 draw away and a 3-0 home win thanks to a goal from Francesco Vincenzi and a Romeo Benetti brace.
• The last meeting between an Italian and Irish side in a European competition came in 2010/11: Juventus v Shamrock Rovers in Europa League qualifiers (a 3-0 win for the Bianconeri on aggregate).
• Italian teams have won five of their six European encounters with Irish opposition (one draw), having kept a clean sheet in all of these games.

Our Home Kit and Third Kit for the 2020/21 season are now available: visit our AC Milan Online Store now!