Diego Costa's magnificent header gives Atletico first-leg advantage over Milan

Atletico Madrid gave AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf an unhappy return to a competition he graced so magnificently as a player when the Spaniards first frustrated their opponents before snatching a late 1-0 Champions League win on Wednesday.

Diego Costa scored the only goal at the San Siro with a magnificent header seven minutes from time as Atletico proved too cagey and wily for Milan, who twice hit the woodwork in the first 20 minutes of a frenetic Round of 16 first-leg game.

Atletico, with coach Diego Simeone prowling the touchline in his familiar all-black outfit, tweaked Milan’s nerves with repeated tactical fouling in midfield, giving away 20 free kicks

“We are a normal team and we try to profit from the situations we create,” former Argentina captain Simeone said. “We work with humility, we started gaining metres and we felt better as the game went on.”

Milan, the only Italian survivors in the competition, had the better of the first half and players such as Kaka and Adel Taarabt showed odd flashes of skill to bring the San Siro to life.

However, awful defending after halftime gave Atletico encouragement and the Spanish side closed in for the kill in the last 20 minutes.