AC Milan coach Leonardo has envisioned a UEFA Champions League meeting with former Rossoneri coach Carlo Ancelotti and his Chelsea side in the last 16 of Europe's elite club competition.

Milan finished as runners-up in Group C behind Real Madrid courtesy of Marseille's failure to beat Los Blancos at the the Stade Velodrome after they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Swiss champions FC Zurich.

And Leonardo is acutely aware that his side will need to improve a great deal if they are to have any chance of lifting their eight Euorpean Cup come next May at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"I didn't like our first half, we had a difficult period before the match, especially with the number of players in doubt," Leonardo toldTMW.

"Thiago Silva, Ronaldinho, [Massimo] Ambrosini just to name a few. We were also playing a side that had nothing to lose, and that had put us in difficulty at San Siro.

"Even if we won the game, we would have finished second in our group.

"The only blotch was the loss to Zurich at home. That defeat penalised us a lot.

"Tonight's match was difficult to play, as they were calm and played open. It conditioned us mentally."

When asked on he would like to meet in the knockout phase, Leonardo expressed his belief that the Italian giants will be drawn against Ancelotti, who spent eight years in the San Siro hotseat prior to his switch to West London in the summer.

He added: "As for who we will get? Who knows. We could get [Carlo] Ancelotti. The important thing is to take it match by match."