Pioli discusses main regret from Verona draw; assesses Ibrahimovic’s derby hopes

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has bemoaned missed chances and his side’s inability to take advantage of their numerical superiority during the 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona.

Milan’s winning run in Serie A was ended at three games as they were held by Ivan Juric’s Verona at San Siro on Sunday.

Just like in the recent home win over Udinese, the Rossoneri were rocked by an early goal from the away side as Davide Faraoni gave Verona the advantage.

However, Hakan Calhanoglu levelled from a free-kick before the break, and Milan were given a big chance to go on and get all three points when Sofyan Amrabat saw red with 20 minutes left.

The closest Milan came to snatching the win was Samu Castillejo’s late effort from close range which hit the post, and the result means that Milan stay 8th in the Serie A table, level on points with Parma and Cagliari above.

Pioli spoke to Sky Italia after the game, and his words were transcribed by MilanNews.it.

“We suffered down the right, we conceded six shots on goal to Verona but we could have been more careful. The regret is that we did not immediately take the lead when we had a sensational opportunity in the first half,” he said.

“We did not have the decisiveness with numerical superiority, there was a lot of time to better occupy the field and have even more opportunities. There were so many players missing and Tuesday’s efforts made themselves felt.

“Spirit and generosity are making a difference, on this basis we have to build something. We have four important games now, I hope to recover as many players as possible to make the right choices in the next games.”

Ibrahimovic missed out on the game due to the flu, but Pioli hopes to have him back for the derby.

“I really hope so, he had calf fatigue at the beginning of the week, then there was the flu. There are excellent chances for him to be in the derby.

“I have never hidden myself, Ibra is an added value both for the depth and for the fear that inspires. However, we won even without him, today we lacked.”

On Daniel Maldini: “The boy has quality, he has talent, clearly talent alone is not enough, I hoped that maybe he could have the right ball.”

“I only told him the position he had to hold and that he would get a good ball.”

On Rebic: “The opponents almost man marked him, he had to go wide on the wing, sometimes he did it well, others less. He had his chances, he must absolutely continue like this and find more continuity even within the race.”


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