Allegri: Our best game against Barca yet

AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri hailed the 0-0 draw against Barcelona as his side's best showing against the defending champions this season.

Both sides met in the group stages, with AC Milan coming away with a 2-2 draw in the match at Nou Camp before succumbing to a 3-2 loss at San Siro.

Wednesday's match saw Milan spurn several chances to take the lead while managing to hold off Barca to half-chances throughout the match.

The result means that a scoring draw or a win will put the Rossoneri through to the semi-finals at the expense of the defending European and Spanish champions.

Allegri praised his side after the match and singled out defender Luca Antonini for praise after the 29-year-old managed to keep Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi under wraps.

The Italian manager said: "I wish to congratulate my side on their performance. We suffered more in the first half than the second, and Luca Antonini was brilliant marking Lionel Messi.

"This was the best of the three games we have played this season against Barcelona; we defended strongly and looked dangerous up front.

"We approached the game in two different phases, the defensive one and the attacking one. We played better football after the restart, but in the first half we created several clear chances and despite the regret at not taking them we gained confidence."

Speaking about the match, the 44-year-old was pleased by the fact that several players returning from injuries managed to make their mark.

"We fielded several players returning from injury and at some point I was obliged to change them because they were short of match fitness," he said, "Stephan El Shaarawy produced a pretty good display when I sent him on; he has great quality and created problems."

Allegri is positive of getting a result in the second leg at Nou Camp on 3 April after this performance.

He commented: "Tonight [Wednesday night] we showed great commitment despite some difficult moments, and now we can think about the return - a draw or a win will see us through. The final result is fair, now we know we can achieve qualification in Barcelona. It's very difficult to measure our chances for the return leg."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a great chance to score against his former club but remains confident of progressing through to the next round.

"We had some opportunities but, unfortunately, we unable to score," said Ibrahimovic to Sky Sport 24 after the match, "However, the result is very good for us. I am optimistic for the second leg."