Sergio Conceiçao was visibly frustrated after the Champions League exit against Feyenoord last night, expressing unhappiness at the way he is compared to other coaches.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
The evening could not have started any better for Milan, who drew level in the tie after just 36 seconds when Santiago Gimenez netted from close range after Malick Thiaw’s header back across goal.
However, everything fell apart early in the second half when Theo Hernandez got a second yellow card for simulation. Then, Julian Carranza came off the bench to equalise on the night and send the Dutch side through.
After the loss in Dinamo Zagreb saw direct qualification for last 16 of the competition go up in smoke, there must be a real worry about the knock-on effect of another opportunity being squandered.
Conceicao spoke to the reporters present in the press conference room at San Siro to offer his thoughts on what was a disastrous night for the club, with MilanNews relaying the comments in full.
Is this a failure?
“It’s definitely a failure, we wanted to get to the round of 16. This match showed that we are stronger than our opponents and that the deciding factors were the incidents, like in Zagreb: the red card there, red card today.
“You could say that the referee was too harsh, but we had to be stronger mentally. I’m the one responsible, not Theo. Then we’ll see in the dressing room. Theo has given a lot to Milan, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career.
“We’re angry. Until Theo’s red card, Feyenoord didn’t know how to get to the goal. We’re disappointed and angry.”
Why did you take Gimenez off?
“We had one player less, eh… Then we had to manage Santi: he had an adductor problem and we have to manage him. I put Joao Felix up front who was fine to try to counter-attack. But in any case we were controlling things.”
Are you afraid of the backlash from this?
“I arrived a month and a half ago, but they make comparisons with coaches who have been here for years. We haven’t worked with the first team, we work in small numbers with those who do different things.
“We won the only trophy we could win, we are in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and in the league, since I arrived, we have obtained 14 points and Napoli 15. It’s not perfect.
“The atmosphere here at Milan is not the best and the red card proves it: we have to work on this. Believe me, it’s not easy, it’s not easy.”
What happened?
“We showed again today that we could have shots on goal and create chances. Then there was Theo’s red card. And that leaves us really angry and disappointed. You know better than me that we have to change the atmosphere.
“I’m not talking about the fans. To change the atmosphere you have to win. Now there’s the next match in Torino. We must win that one, the one after that and the one after that. And think about the Coppa Italia.”