It would be fair to say that Stefano Pioli seemed irritated after last night’s 4-2 win over Slavia Praha, something which tells its own story about how the game went.
It was a real rollercoaster of a night at San Siro, starting with Diouf getting a red card for the away side after less than half an hour, with Olivier Giroud scoring the opener before the away side levelled after less than two minutes.
Milan went in 3-1 up at the break thanks to goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, yet they were pegged back again in the second half by another excellent strike. Christian Pulisic tapped in a fourth late on after great work by Rafael Leao, but the 4-2 win left a bitter taste.
Pioli’s statements after the match were relayed by La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning (seen below), summed up the frustrations that the 60,000 fans felt.
“We did well but not very well, we had to move the ball faster, I expected a second half with more pace. It’s not a question of character but we have to play well. We have a good lead but we still have to get through to the next round, we have to do better in the return leg,” he said.
“We took the lead and then immediately let the opponents come back, it could be a loss of concentration. In this case we made small mistakes, we weren’t ready.
“On the other hand, the final stoppage time of just three minutes was too little, I wanted the team to accelerate to try for an extra goal, it would have been very important. We had some difficulties, which is normal when opponents play deep and close up.”
The paper highlights a particular comment from Pioli regarding Leao’s performance. While he was again involved in a lot of the positive attacking play, he drifted in and out of the game and he missed a big chance early in the second half that could have killed off not just the game but the tie.
“Leão can reach very high heights, but it’s not like we have to talk about his qualities every time. He has to move with more intensity and we had to serve him better and more. Rafa must try to be so incisive in every match and aim to grow further, he can always be decisive.”
Finally, the coach talked about the unexpected difficulties his side suffered against an opponent who were outnumbered for over an hour.
“We filled the spaces too much, the full-backs were too high, instead they had to close in more so as to leave more space on the outside for Leão and Pulisic.”
A tactical indication which Pioli asked to be implemented that was ignored, and now a battle in Prague awaits.
