AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer has admitted that he feels ‘sorry for the fans’ after they were subjected to a 5-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Inter.
Milan and Inter went into the game having both won all three games in Serie A, but the recent derby struggles for Stefano Pioli’s men would not cease, rather they would get an awful lot worse.
Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Thuram before the break put Inter in a good position, and while Rafael Leao’s well-taken finish did halve the deficit, Mkhitaryan’s second, a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty and a goal from Davide Frattesi made it a rout.
The result means that Milan have lost five derbies in a row against Inter, all of them coming in 2023, and with 12 goals conceded with just one goal scored.
Kjaer spoke to DAZN after the game to try and reflect on what was a frankly shameful performance from the team, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“A match like this, a derby, weighs a lot. I’m really sorry, especially for the fans. Tonight they were smarter than us in certain situations, more determined,” he said.
“We played the game until 3-1, then we lost a bit at the end… I’m so sorry for the fans, we know how much a game like this weighs. Tomorrow we have to work again.”
Did you concede too many one-on-one situations in defence?
“We had accepted that these are the characteristics of Inter. We thought that with our strength and our way of playing we could win like Milan.
“Tonight they were good with the runs of the midfielders. We have to work on that. Milan’s path will always be to play our football. Tonight we lost badly, but it’s a journey. I feel sorry for the fans.”
