Massimiliano Allegri was understandably frustrated as AC Milan threw away a great position to draw against Parma.
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Everything was going smoothly for Milan as they scored twice in the opening half-hour of the game. Alexis Saelemaekers got the opener with a lovely shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards, then the Belgian draw a penalty which was emphatically converted by Rafael Leao.
Everything seemed to change when Adrian Bernabe curled one into the top corner right before half-time. Parma came out full of belief and equalised through Enrico Delprato, yet Milan still should have won as Christian Pulisic (off the bench) and Saelemaekers missed late one-on-ones.
Allegri’s assessments
In the end, they would have to settle for a 2-2 draw. Allegri spoke to Sky and DAZN moments after the full-time whistle to offer his honest assessments on yet another missed opportunity for his team to put pressure on those around them. His words are via MilanNews.
Your feelings after the game?
“Two points thrown away. I don’t know how it would have ended if we had finished the first half 2-0. We came back onto the pitch dazed, we were really asleep.
“If you go 2-0 up you can’t concede that goal in the 48th minute, you have to kick the ball into the stands. We should have gone forward and played with more clarity.”
It was Estupinan’s mistake…
“He was returning from injury. He even saved a goal. You can’t say it’s one player’s fault or the other.”
Is Leao and Pulisic the front two moving forward?
“They also did well in preseason. We need to get Rabiot back and everyone back in better shape. Against Pisa, Cremonese, and Parma, we got two points, but we threw away seven.”
How did Parma get back into it?
“We were completely overwhelmed in the penalty area, too many balls were passed around with extreme ease. In those phases of the game you have to fight and then get back into the game.”
What was Leao’s role?
“In the end, he also played as a centre-forward. We had several scoring chances tonight. In the first half, we could have handled the ball better. We need to improve our reading of the game.”
After a good first half, came the goal that changed AC Milan’s fortunes. What happened?
“Football matches can turn things upside down in an instant, for better or worse. At the end of the first half, we were in control, we could have done even better with the ball, and we conceded this goal with a minute to go.
“In the second half, it was normal for them to psychologically overwhelm us. We couldn’t stay calm, quite the opposite. They got balls to us in the box too easily. We had to fight a bit, a bit of a battle, but we were too passive.
“Then we had some important opportunities, but Maignan also made a good save. Even in this throw-in situation, we knew it… When there’s a battle to be fought, you can’t just play, you have to fight.”
Cremonese, Pisa, Parma… why the dropped points?
“If I knew why, it would be easy. We definitely need to improve and work hard. It was a different situation against Pisa, but the same with Cremonese. Today we had to fight a bit when we needed to because we had to defend the 2-1 lead.”
Are you more angry about the two goals you conceded or about not scoring the third?
“Because of the two goals we conceded. In the 45th minute, the first half was over. You can’t give away a shot on goal from an easy ball. At that moment, you’re either sure you’ll keep the ball or you’ll throw it into an easy throw-in and that’s the end of the game.
“Then we came back on the pitch feeling dazed. Then we woke up, started playing, and had some big chances. Maignan also made a great save.”
Pulisic returned, and seemed to have instant chemistry with Leao…
“They’re also getting back into shape. Estupinan hadn’t played in a while, he saved a goal. Pulisic came back well, but unfortunately he wasted a great chance. We’re waiting for Rabiot, Jashari had a good chance.
“It’s a matter of understanding the moments of the game: if we don’t understand them, we’ll find ourselves saying these things at the end of the game. Against Pisa, there was a moment to close it out, and we didn’t close it out. Against Cremonese, we conceded two goals.
“Today we had to fight because it was normal for them to come at us with crosses. We conceded two goals that weren’t exactly gifted, but almost. Then there were two more situations involving throw-ins because we were stuck in the box: these are situations where we need to understand.”
Is this break before the derby a good thing or a bad thing?
“I don’t know, we’ll see after the Inter game. In the meantime, we’re recovering, we’re in the top four in the standings and that’s our main objective. We know we have to get there, we’ve won a lot of head-to-head matches, we’ve gotten few points against the smaller teams and that’s something we need to improve.”