AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli believes there is an obvious gap between Serie A and the Premier League, as seen in the defeat against Liverpool.
The Rossoneri marked their return to the Champions League with a loss at Anfield, but it was certainly a rollercoaster of a game and Milan even had the lead heading into half time thanks to goals from Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz.
Nonetheless, the 3-2 final scoreline was probably a fair reflection on the balance of play as Jurgen Klopp’s side were sharper and more imposing across the park for the majority of the game.
Pioli spoke to the reporters who gathered at the Milanello conference room to answer their questions ahead of what is a huge early-season clash – with his comments relayed by MilanNews – and he was asked about the gap between Serie A and the Premier League.
“It’s a good question, let me say what we saw at Liverpool: the pitch, the stadium… Surely we can say that they are at the top, they are at very high levels. They are among the four teams that can win the Champions League, their level is very high. We are trying to reach them, it takes time and growth: not only on the pitch but also in the infrastructure.”
On where his side can improve, Pioli added: “We can improve in build-up, they attacked us hard but not with numerical parity. We can find holes, when we did we created a lot and scored two very good goals. When we work with our quality positions and high speed we have shown that we can put very strong opponents in difficulty.”
On how the group are feeling after the game at Anfield, he said: “The group has that result in it but is ready for tomorrow. Now we are focused on the league, we are first in the table and we want to make another good performance. We will have to take good positions in midfield, which is what we missed against Liverpool.”
