Alvaro Morata has admitted that he was hoping to be able to celebrate a win in his first competitive game for AC Milan, and also insisted that a ‘change of mentality’ is needed.
When Morata got his first goal for the club late on to give the home fans something to cheer, it looked like being a mere consolation. Musah had a shot blocked, then Reijnders let fly and the Spanish striker was on hand to redirect the Dutchman’s attempt into the bottom corner.
However, Noah Okafor would then pop up with a volley in added time to complete the comeback from a two-goal deficit and ensure that Paulo Fonseca’s side at least got something from his first game in charge.
Morata spoke to Sky Italia after the game to try and assess what was a rollercoaster of a night both for him personally and for the team given that he had a goal disallowed and drew a penalty that was overturned, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“It’s not a great debut because we drew. But we sent a message, a team that was practically dead caught up and if it had lasted five minutes more we would have won,” he said.
“We need a change of mentality. Every Serie A match will be tough, every Champions League match will be tough, the Coppa Italia will be tough.
“We are Milan and we have to pedal. It’s beautiful to play at San Siro with this shirt, I hoped I could win. I can’t promise goals or titles, but I will give everything for the shirt, yes.”
The former Real Madrid and Juventus man also spoke to DAZN about the spectrum of emotions that he experienced in his competitive debut for the Rossoneri.
“Penalty taken away, offside, goal, yellow card: they all happened to me! We took at least one point, we have to show this courage and this strength from the first minute.
“Is it a physical issue? No, we have to take a step further mentally. We have to work hard, become a tougher team. From tomorrow we will all do it together.”