Stefano Pioli must show that he has control over the AC Milan dressing room again after three recent incidents which shed some doubt on things, a report claims.
Daniele Longo writes for Calciomercato.com that Milan ‘exposed all their current fragilities’ last night during their 2-2 draw with Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, having been 2-0 up but then throwing it away in the second half.
Pioli had spoken of tension and nerves in his pre-match press conference the day before at Milanello, and they were on display last night with the Rossoneri seeming on edge.
Olivier Giroud was unhappy with being taken off while potentially being on for a hat-trick. He sat on a freezer box for a while and didn’t head to the bench before then sitting alone, in a corner, disconsolate.
Rafael Leão wasn’t happy to come off either as he headed towards Pioli to ask for explanations. These were two quite dramatic reactions that occurred after the double change, with Okafor and Jovic coming on.
Of course these things can happen in the heat of the moment and Giroud clarified that there was no problem, but it comes after the misunderstanding with Davide Calabria after the 3-0 defeat in Paris.
Pioli still has to deal with the discontent of his players and this is a sign that cannot be underestimated: he urgently needs to rediscover the harmony shown at the beginning of the season before it’s too late.
