AC Milan needed a response in the Supercoppa against Inter after a bad start to 2023, and instead what they got in Saudi Arabia was a comfortable defeat.
Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) writes that the last 10 days have officially put Milan officially in crisis. The collapse against Roma, getting knocked out of the Coppa Italia against a team with 10 men, the bad performance against Lecce and now the humiliating defeat in the derby against the Nerazzurri.
The paper recalls the words of Pioli and Simon Kjaer after the game, the two Rossoneri leaders who put their faces in front of the cameras last night after the match. Pioli underlined to Mediaset microphones: “We are not living our best moment from a mental point of view. We have to rediscover that mental lightness that allows us to play the football we know.”
The defensive performance in 2023 so far has not been good enough, and the goals conceded in the first five games of the year total nine, most of them due to trivial mistakes, almost concentration.
“I didn’t expect it. I know my players and I always expect positive performances. Right now we struggle to react to a mistake, we struggle to stay as a team and we only react individually,” Pioli added.
Kjaer often speaks with a certain frankness that makes him a leader, and last night was no exceptions: “We didn’t put in a good performance to deserve. We have to look back, apologise to the fans.”
Two leaders of the dressing room, the coach and one of the most experienced players, spoke. However, words are not enough and now the squad will have six days to work on the next match, which is a tough trip to the Stadio Olimpico to face Lazio. Losing in that would mean top four is in real jeopardy.
