Essien, Muntari out of Uefa Champs League

Ghana stars Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari had their Uefa Champions League title ambitions crashed on Tuesday night after Atletico Madrid subjected them to 4-1 humiliation in the second-leg tie in Spain.

The Black Stars duo were both involved in action for the seven-time title winners who exited the competition on a 5-1 aggregate.

Milan manager Clarence Seedorf handed a starting spot to Essien in midfield but the ex-Chelsea star did not complete the entire 90 minutes of the game as he was replaced in the 70th minute by Giampaolo Pazzini.

Muntari, who was returning from suspension after missing the first-leg was brought on as a 78th minute substitute for Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong but he could not help alter the fate of the game for the Rossoneris as Diego Costa hit a brace to add to Adna Turan and Raul Garcia strikes in each halves.

Milan’s exit from the competition sums up their miserable season as they are not faring well in both domestic and continental competitions.

Essien in particular was brought in by Milan to help their continental campaign with his immense experience but things have turned out badly since his arrival from London.