By Jamie Spencer AC Milan were the big winners as the first Europa League knockout round got underway on Thursday night, opening up a 3-0 aggregate lead over in-form French side Rennes at San Siro. Rennes came into the first leg tie off the back of five successive wins in Ligue 1, yet they proved no match for Milan and English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The former Chelsea star opened the scoring after 32 minutes and doubled both his personal tally and his team’s advantage almost immediately after half-time. Rafael Leao then put the result on the night – and possibly the tie as a whole – be…