Pioli bemoans Milan’s lack of a ‘clinical’ edge and gives update on injured midfielder

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has insisted the team need to become ‘more ruthless and clinical’, while he gave an update on the condition of a midfielder.

Milan’s winning run in Serie A came to an end as they were beaten 1-0 by Juventus at San Siro on Sunday night. The big moment of the match came with five minutes left in the first half when referee Maurizio Mariani adjudged Malick Thiaw to have committed a last-man foul on Moise Kean, earning him a red card.

It was Milan who stayed on top for the vast majority of the game despite being a man down, but it was Manuel Locatelli’s deflected second half shot which beat Antonio Mirante and ended up being the winner.

Pioli spoke to the reporters who gathered in the press conference room at San Siro after the defeat against Juventus to try and analyse a frustrating night for his team, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

Milan have had 33 shots but only one goal in the last three games…

“We need to become more ruthless and clinical, we needed to fill the area more with the midfielders and this is where we need to improve.”

Will Loftus-Cheek recover for Paris?

“Today he was better, let’s see tomorrow. It goes a little every other day, because he has inflammation and now I don’t know. Let’s see tomorrow.”

Could more have been done?

“We could have done more even with 10 men. We were essentially equal in numbers, we needed more intensity, even if, to be honest, we conceded very little other than a couple of shots from outside the area and, unfortunately, on one of these, we scored a goal.”

Why Jovic and not Okafor?

“Jovic because he is finding the best condition and not Okafor because he is not at 100%, he hasn’t always trained with the team during the week.”

How will the team react in Paris?

“We will find all our mental and physical strength because we know how important the match in Paris is: we haven’t won in the Champions League yet and we must take advantage of the opportunity.”

At the end of the first half you spoke to Mariani…

“I had a chat with the referee as I often do.”

Tags AC Milan Stefano Pioli

3 Comments

  1. “Jovic because he is finding the best condition and not Okafor because he is not at 100%”
    So they’re both not at 100% then. So why not Romero 🤷‍♂️

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