MILAN — AC Milan stunned Barcelona 2-0 in the first leg of its Champions League last-16 tie Wednesday, beating the Spanish giant for the first time in eight matches. Kevin-Prince Boateng gave Milan the lead in controversial circumstances in the 57th minute. Cristian Zapata appeared to handle Riccardo Montolivo's assist in the buildup. Barcelona players protested but to no avail and Gerard Pique was booked in the process. Sulley Muntari sealed the win nine minutes from time with a well-worked goal. In the other match of the night, Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz scored his seventh goal in seven Champions League matches, but Schalke 04 held his team to a 1-1 draw thanks to a Jermaine Jones goal. Yilmaz put Galatasaray ahead in the 12th minute, picking up a pass from Selcuk Inan and flicking the ball around a defender to power in a shot past keeper Timo Hildebrand. Schalke equalized in the closing seconds of a pulsating first half as the visitors broke quickly and Jefferson Farfan passed across the goal to Jones who side-footted the ball past Fernando Muslera, leaving the German side well placed ahead of the second leg. New Galatasaray signing Didier Drogba, last year's Champions League hero for Chelsea, linked up well with Yilmaz in attack but fellow big-name acquisition Wesley Sneijder was substituted after the first half. Milan, meanwhile, contained Barcelona's potent attack impressively, allowing it just two shots on target all match. The result was a massive boost to Milan's turnaround from a dreadful start to the season. Massimiliano Allegri's side was 15th in the Italian league after eight games but has risen to third. It still went into the home match as a firm underdog against a Barcelona side which has lost only twice all season in the league and in Europe. "I think it was a great game," Allegri said. "The lads deserved this win. We didn't concede anything in defense and we had several chances. We could even have won 3-0, but I understand tiredness set in a bit.” It was Barcelona's first loss by two goals since a 3-1 defeat to Real Betis in the Spanish Cup on Jan. 19, 2011. "It was harder than usual for us to score," Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura said. "Milan was very organized, very strong in defense and that caused us a lot of problems. We were also playing on a pitch that wasn't worthy of this competition. We controlled in the first half, we didn't create chances but neither did they. Then their first goal really hurt us and it was then even harder.” Schalke, on the other hand, will lodge a complaint with UEFA because of Drogba's participation. "There are doubts over the valid eligibility for Drogba in the Champions League. Schalke reserves its rights and is looking into this," the club said in a tweet Thursday. — Agencies
