Stefano Pioli was not happy with the officiating display after his AC Milan side lost 2-1 to Atalanta at San Siro in their Coppa Italia quarter-final tonight.
Rafael Leao’s fantastic finish in the closing stages of the first half made it 1-0 to Milan and seemed to have settled the nerves after quite a cagey game up to that point, but Teun Koopmeiners equalised within 90 seconds.
Koopmeiners would net again in the second half and this time from the penalty spot after Alex Jimenez was penalised for a foul on Miranchuk. The Dutchman sent Mike Maignan the wrong way and it would prove to be the winner.
Milan also had a late appeal for a penalty turned down meaning they didn’t get the rub of the green in the two major decisions, but the end result is another early Coppa Italia exit.
Pioli was interviewed by Mediaset at the end of the game and was tasked with trying to unpick what was a very frustrating night for his side, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
What happened after taking the lead?
“We played a very good first half and then we made a big mistake. In the second half we struggled, but the game changed due to the penalty that wasn’t there. We struggled to find the positions that favoured us in the first half.”
What about the penalty appeal right at the end?
“It’s difficult, there are a lot of discussions about VAR… Looking at it like this, it seems strange to me that the referee wasn’t called back to see it. The first penalty wasn’t there and it changes the game. The ball is touched first by our player, the Atalanta player also dives before the contact…”
Where could more have been done?
“We could have reacted better. I understand the players’ frustration, but there could have been more clarity. There was plenty of time to fix it. We were unable to get going again in a match that was difficult and balanced. It was played well in the first half and not so well in the second half.”
How do you judge Jovic’s performance?
“He did less well but I think that’s not exclusively his responsibility. He is a player who is good at playing the ball and then opening it up, we had to stay a little lower with the wingers and open up space for the attackers. We didn’t succeed and we were penalised for it.”
Finally, that penalty for Atalanta…
“I didn’t need to see it again, it was on the right trajectory. I saw that the ball had been deflected and Miranchuk had already jumped. An episode that changed the direction of a balanced match.”
