AC Milan’s only goalscorer against Bologna, Rafael Leao, spoke to the media after the game and expressed disappointment. While most fans would disagree, he insisted that the top-four dream isn’t over.
Although Milan took the lead through Leao, it came a bit out of nowhere as a long ball eventually ended up at the feet of the winger. Bologna managed to fight their way back and eventually clinched all three points, ending the Rossoneri’s hopes of clinching a top-four finish.
Speaking to DAZN after the game, as transcribed by MilanNews, Leao indirectly shared his thoughts on the potential handball on Bologna’s goal. He also stated that every game between now and until the end of the season will be like a final.
What explanations do you have for the outcome?
“Our goal today was to win, as always. We are the ones to blame for the result. But that’s how it is. We have to raise our heads, unite and now there’s a good game against Lazio, we’re playing at home and we have to win. We are disappointed.
“How we suffered the goal, some strange things… If I talk it becomes a bit of a mess. But these are things you can see. It’s complicated. What led to their first goal was strange, but we have to look at ourselves.
“We had a fabulous first half and we had to continue like that in the second half. Now comes another important game against another very difficult team.”
Is Lazio the last resort?
“Until the end of the season, every game is a final. Today it ended like this, we are disappointed but now we will face another team, very difficult.”
Do you still believe in fourth place?
“Of course. There are still many games. Serie A is difficult, everyone drops points. We try to do our job.”
Of course, whatever happens next – from Milan that is – might not matter as much as the points gap is significant up to Juventus in fourth place. The feeling ahead of tonight’s game was that a win was needed to keep the dream alive.
““We had a fabulous first half”
Yet another proof he is not even watching the game while resting or, at best, jogging next to the touchline.
I can’t believe he actually said that
They had a coach Pioli.
After he gone players started to flops.
Thats the only explanation I can give. There is no possibility that 25 Ac Milan players don’t know how to play…
Did you miss the multiple times in the last two seasons when Pioli was about to be sacked? The mid season collapses that made the scudetto impossible?
Did you miss that he finished top 4 both seasons after the scudetto win (4th and 2nd) with a much weaker squad? Also took us to the champions league semifinals for the first time in like forever
Piolis track record for the 4 full seasons he coached was 2nd, 1st, 4th, 2nd.
Guy is coming of as a genious concidering what he did with a mediocre squad compared to what this seasons coaches are doing with a much stronger one
I think its simply the reinforcements our directors have brought in are not good enough. We don’t have a midfield, like at all
To be honest, and no offense. If this the reason why this team play badly, because of Pioli. Than this team is very very poor.
Pioli, in his last season cant give us CL ticket. If not because Juve, than we are in EL. Pioli has reached his ceiling, and dont know how to give something ‘new idea’ to the
team.
Good players must can adapt with new tactics, new formation. See Pavlovic bro, he is the example right now.
If this summer, even if we have Klopp as our coach, but this team still missing Pioli, than we are not going everywhere.
Pioli era should be over before even before his eventual sacking. I am just upset that we miss the chance to upgrade the coach while we can
I remember the record-breaking January with Pioli. The club made some serious records back then. Pioli lost the team last year and couldn’t have continued from there.
Leao’s right. It’s all there to see in their first goal.
Go back and watch it, the first goal, the equalizer. A comedy of errors. Four individual mistakes by four different players in a row. Clowns.
It starts after Theo gives a good header to Leao who flicks it to Felix. Then we see 4 ridiculous errors and the ball is in our net:
1. Felix could simply play the ball into Santi, who’s open, but instead he tries some flashy flick to himself and loses the ball.
2. The ball bounces to Pavlovic, who tries a strange crouching header instead of using his feet, and he whiffs, and the ball rolls down the line.
3. Theo gives chase and could simply play the ball but badly fouls the Bologna player, taking a yellow card and giving Bologna a dangerous set piece.
4. The ball is whipped in on the set piece. Musah isn’t alert enough and plays the Bologna attackers onside after a flick header. Bologna stabs it in from point blank range.
Four awful individual errors in a row. I don’t think the team is adequately prepared or motivated by Conceicao. But it’s also players making bad choices again and again.
Embarrassing loss, embarrassing season.
I never wanted pioli to leave.
But they forced him out.
I never wanted Maldini to leave.
But they forced him out too.
2021 and 2022 was a very good team. All thanks to Maldini.
We have a good core, we just don’t have backups and the coach is clueless what to do with Reijnders. I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose him to Madrid
Why can’t people see that Felix has unbalanced this team with his indecisiveness. Felix should never start for Milan. He his a waste of a player, flashy in the eye but poor in decision making which leaves our defense very open when he looses the ball upfront. Bizzare
Absolutely right, Felixmade Milan play unbalance and he offers nothing but show off
If someone says he has always wanted Pioli to remain as coach I won’t argue, because I have no facts to start an argument. But definitely, the general feeling was that his time was up at Milan and it was time for a fresh start.
The problem was that while the management had decided on Pioli change like 5 month before the end of the season, they wasted that time with lowball selection criteria that finally ended up with Fonseca. The season began, and a crises started. Coach begins to panic, results were not coming, amatuer management realised they’d flopped the summer recruitment. To remedy the situation winter changes. But guess what. Too late. The team is too disjointed to find a rhythm in the middle of a tensed up season. Look at the game the team can not make 5 successive passes. It’s as though they only met each other that day.
Everyone should count their loses this season, team play with calm, and let Cardinale decides what he really wants and get serious with this club, if not these amateur managers will ruin the club.
Can we all stop with this Pioli stuff.
Conceicao showed he is better than him early enough. We played with style and aggression when Conceicao took over, winning some important matches with heart and grit.
The problem started when he started falling out with the players he felt weren’t good enough to give us that raise in quality.
I think the last straw was the confrontation with Calabria publicly. I mean the team captain crying before the fans going out on loan.
I said it that that could cause a setup against the coach, otherwise the captain is gone forever. I think the players have promised Calabria that they will make sure Conceicao leaves the club before his loan tenure ends.
We loose games in a manner that one cannot even explain. Conceicao is by no means a bad coach, but his man management style doesn’t work for a club like ours especially with players who have been pampered for a long time. Even when Pioli lost it tactically and it was clear that he has been figured out by other coaches, he never lost the dressing room, his players gave him their all until the last moment, it was the players that even made him stay longer than expected.
I feel he should have handled some situations with more diplomacy, I’m sure he has lost the dressing room, and it’s just a matter of time before he leaves.
We’re all 100 % trust you Rafa, but you have to give your 100% too
Even if Rafa give 100% if his teammates do errors one by one then tbe players will feel hopeless