Stefano Pioli is dreaming of going all the way with Milan in this season's Champions League after overcoming Tottenham in the first knockout round.
Milan held Tottenham to a goalless draw in Wednesday's last-16 second leg in north London to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory and a place in next week's quarter-final draw.
Mike Maignan made a superb save late on to deny Harry Kane, but Milan finished the game with an expected goals (xG) return of 1.37 compared to 0.46 for Spurs.
It is the first time since the 2011-12 campaign that Milan have reached the final eight of the competition, and Pioli is excited for what is to come.
"We were good today. We asked the team to play with personality," he told Prime Video. "We never gave up and it's a well-deserved passage through the next round.
"We have to take one step at a time. It was important to get through the group, then the round of 16, and now we'll wait for the [quarter-final] draw.
"It's clear that we'll face a great team, but Tottenham were also a great team. Dreaming is nice; it helps you to work better.
"It's wonderful to play in the Champions League. So either we win it, which would not be easy, or try to qualify by finishing in the top four in Serie A."
Pioli, whose side are fifth in Serie A, added: "I like to think there's nothing impossible in sport. Clearly, only the best in Europe remain and each round gets more difficult.
"But I'm sure all the experiences in Europe – especially the negative ones – help us to step up a level. Now we must go into the quarter-final with confidence and belief."
Milan have kept four successive clean sheets in the Champions League for the first time since between April and October 2006.
Pioli's decision to revert to a three-man defence has paid off, with his side winning five games out of seven since then.
"I took this decision after the defeat against Sassuolo," Pioli said of the tactical switch. "It seems that the old system we used didn't work well.
"The attitude has changed; the team works with more attention. We have three central defenders who are capable of playing in this system, so it was time to change."
Kane's late glancing header, which Maignan did well to get down and save, was the closest Tottenham went to scoring across both legs.
The hosts had Cristian Romero sent off for two bookable offences and Milan almost snatched a late winner on the day when Divock Origi broke clear but hit the post.
And former Arsenal striker Giroud, who played 81 minutes despite being a fitness doubt, believes Milan did enough to win the second leg.
"I told the lads we deserved to be in the Champions League last year and this season we want to go further," he said.
"We deserved to go through thanks to our determination. I think we could've won this second leg as well and it's a pity we didn't score as we had the clearest chances."
Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Leipzig: Visitors fightback halts unbeaten streak for Alonso's side
Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first defeat in 36 Bundesliga matches, as Leipzig came from behind to stun Xabi Alonso's side 3-2 at BayArena.
Lois Openda struck twice for Marco Rose's, who recovered from 2-0 down to make it two wins from two and move to the summit of the table.
It looked like business as usual for the reigning Bundesliga champions when they scored twice in the last seven minutes of the first half through Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo.
However, Leipzig replied deep into first-half stoppage time with Kevin Kampl reducing the deficit.
Openda then brought the visitors level in the 57th minute, before a stunning long-range strike completed the turnaround 10 minutes from time, condemning Leverkusen to their first league defeat in 15 months.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen's long streak comes to a shuddering halt
Leipzig became the first side to beat Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match since Bochum achieved the feat a staggering 462 days earlier.
The visitors have begun a Bundesliga season with two wins from two for only the second time, also doing so in 2019-20.
They are also now unbeaten in 13 league matches, their longest such streak since Rose took charge.
As for Leverkusen, their invincible streak is officially history, as is their 29-game unbeaten run on home soil.
'We really let ourselves down' - Coleman slams Everton after late Bournemouth collapse
Seamus Coleman acknowledged Everton "really let ourselves down" and must "look at ourselves in the mirror" following their spectacular late collapse against Bournemouth.
Sean Dyche's side, who were seeking their first points of the season, led 2-0 in the 87th minute at Goodison Park through goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
However, the hosts were undone by three crosses in the latter stages, with Antoine Semenyo pulling a goal back and Lewis Cook levelling, before Luis Sinisterra completed a sensational turnaround in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Boos rung around Goodison Park as the Toffees remained pointless and rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, and Coleman echoed the supporters' frustrations.
"We really let ourselves down in front of our fans," the skipper said. "We cannot take our foot off the gas at this level. Unfortunately, we did that.
"We cannot be conceding the goals that we did. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror."
Meanwhile, Dyche bemoaned the lack of responsibility amongst his players, as they became the first side in Premier League history to lose a game after leading by two or more goals in the 87th minute.
"We did so much right until they scored their first goal," the Everton head coach said. "The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can't put my finger on it right now.
"They kept raining it forward and got their reward in the end. They were playing it forward and crossing it into the box, and we didn't deal with it. Simple stuff, but we threw it away. It is the third game we have thrown away this season.
"Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change. You have to see games through, and we have enough experience to do that, but today we didn't."
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola added: "It was the worst game we played this season. Everton deserved to win today, but the players kept pushing.
"I always have hope because this team has spirit. We have done it before and had some good comebacks. The spark of the first goal made us believe we could do it again."
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves: Bellegarde beauty earns visitors first point
Wolves earned their first point of the Premier League season following a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Chris Wood's towering header was cancelled out by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's stunning strike as the spoils were shared at the City Ground.
The hosts took the lead in the 10th minute as Wood rose to nod home from Elliot Anderson's corner.
However, the visitors were level just two minutes later in spectacular fashion, with Bellegarde firing a stunning long-range volley into the roof of the net.
Gary O'Neil's side had Sam Johnstone to thank after the break, with the debutant producing a strong hand to deny Wood his second goal of the game.
Matheus Cunha curled a shot just wide while the offside flag denied Wood later on, with Forest unable to snatch victory but extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Data Debrief: Wolves end losing streak while Wood matches Collymore
After opening the season with two defeats and eight goals conceded, Wolves stopped the rot with a welcome point against their Midlands rivals, while ending a five-game Premier League losing streak in the process.
Meanwhile, Forest remain unbeaten in their opening three games of a top-flight season for the first time since 1995-96.
Heading his side into the lead, Wood became only the second Forest player to score in both their first two home matches in a Premier League season since Stan Collymore 30 years previously.
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