AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli denied that his side had an eye on Tottenham in tonight’s defeat against Fiorentina, but did admit that they were second best.
Milan fell to their first defeat since the derby loss to Inter a month ago and it was a deserved one at the hands of a Fiorentina side who appeared sharper and hungrier throughout, scoring through a Nico Gonzalez penalty and a Luka Jovic header.
Theo Hernandez did get a consolation with a minute left of added time through a powerful strike from inside the box but it would be too little too late as Milan saw their four-game winning run come to an end.
It comes at a bad time given a crucial Champions League last 16 second leg against Spurs beckons, and Pioli spoke to Sky to reflect on a poor night for his side, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“We prepared the match as if it were very important. Fiorentina did better than us in the first half in terms of quality and energy. We did better in the second half, despite the penalty and the chance to equalise. The first half was not played well and this has penalised us,” he said.
Were the team thinking of London?
“No no no, that was absolutely not the case. Fiorentina played better than us, but not because we were thinking of Tottenham. We never thought of Tottenham. We had to do things better. It was a stoppage that we didn’t want.”
Will we see another Milan in London?
“It will be a different match, a knockout, because tonight’s match doesn’t count. They are two teams that will play at their best. Milan will certainly be ready.”
Today was a particularly poignant day with the memory of Astori…
“The Florence crowd knows everything that happened and how beautiful Davide was. This match is intimately strong for me.”
Milan haven’t been as good away this year…
“It’s true, it’s a fact that penalises us a lot and it’s strange given the numbers we’ve always had. We have to do better because we have the qualities to do better than what we did tonight. We ran a lot, but not well.”
A comment on De Ketelaere’s performance?
“He did some good things, but it’s clear that our attacking phase wasn’t so proactive and it’s difficult for the forwards to find space and timing. He moved well, but the team could have done more with movements off the ball.”
Do you have the squad for London in mind?
“Yes yes, more or less yes. We will see how the team is. Bennacer has just returned, let’s see also for Diaz. It will be a different game.”
