AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli believes that his side could have put the result beyond doubt against Sampdoria in the first half, but were forced to endure difficulties instead.
Junior Messias opened the scoring for Milan in the first few minutes but Rafael Leao’s red card early in the second half complicated things, with Djuricic equalising for the home side. However, Olivier Giroud won and converted a penalty to ensure a first away victory of the campaign.
Pioli spoke to Milan TV after the game to give his thoughts on the team’s performance and the result, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
On the difficulties: The double absence of Divock and Ante complicates the attacking department, but we also have other solutions and characteristics. We put in a solid performance and with more quality than the match in the Champions League. Too bad there were 10 players left, but great credit to my players for believing in it until the end.”
On the performance: “In the first half we played well, we could have hurt every time we countered. Having only scored one goal was the only limitation. I was lucky enough to have Fikayo on the bench, the three defenders gave us the opportunity to regain numerical parity. When you put so much desire to win, then you are rewarded.”
On the three-man defence: “I have this situation in mind here since this summer, we have 5 central defenders all 5 strong, Simon is a player of great charisma. I would have liked to try it this summer, it was my idea but the other players came later and Simon wasn’t 100% straight away. It is not a problem for the players, there is this possibility: it depends on the matches and we will see when to use it.”
On Pobega’s performance: “I rate it very positively, it is yet another proof that players need to grow, play, make mistakes. He’s been clean technically, he’s very good at insertions and he’s physically strong. He had a very positive performance, I’m happy. He works very well and gives so much every day, it is right that he brings home some gratifications.”
On De Ketelaere: “I liked it a lot [his performance]. He was inside the game, we looked for him often, goal or no goal is not important. I liked it so much, he does what we ask him: only progress and no steps back.”
On the referee: “Why don’t the players, even ours, protest in European competitions? The referee determines the behaviour of the players, in Italy we whistle and talk too much. The referee must be respected, in Europe they don’t give explanations, they don’t stop to talk. In my opinion there is a little too much talk on the pitch, and then consequently there is nervousness. I don’t know if my battle is lost or if they will be able to give us some solutions in the future.”
