El Shaarawy confident of Barca upset

Stephan El Shaarawy said AC Milan expect to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Barcelona.

Milan have, for the most part, been written off ahead of their quarter-final showdown with the reigning world, European and Spanish champions.

But El Shaarawy feels Milan are in a positive frame of mind ahead of Wednesday night’s first-leg encounter at San Siro, telling Gazzetta dello Sport: “We expect to go through.”

The 19-year-old striker said he will be cheering on Milan’s city rivals Inter in their Serie A clash with Juventus on Sunday.

“I will support Inter against Juventus because we want to pull even further clear of the Bianconeri,” he said.

Milan have a seven-point lead at the top of the table after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Roma.

El Shaarawy failed to get on the scoresheet at San Siro, having seen a wonderful curling effort from the edge of the area come back off the post during the first-half, but he played his part in a vital win for the hosts.

“My game? It was a pity about the post, but I am happy all the same,” the former Genoa forward said.

“We played a great game and in the second half we were really good. Roma are a good team; it was not easy.”