Inter clinched the Scudetto as they managed to beat AC Milan by two goals to one at San Siro this evening. After the game, Stefano Pioli spoke to the media and sent a signal to the Rossoneri owners amid Inter’s superiority.
It was indeed a tough evening for Milan as Inter dominated most of the game and could have scored three-four goals in the first half. The Rossoneri picked themselves up a bit after the second goal but it wasn’t enough, as their city rivals saw out the game.
Speaking to DAZN, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli shared his thoughts on what went wrong for his side. He also aimed a message at Gerry Cardinale and Redbird, stating that major improvements are needed to compete with Inter.
The most complicated evening since you took over Milan… have you spoken with the team?
“I went to the locker room to try to cheer them up, it’s a heavy defeat for everything that goes into it. I tried as much as possible to cheer up my players, because we have to finish the season well and we have another important match on Saturday.”
Your tactics with a 3-man backline for tonight, did they satisfy you?
“The idea was to try to remove the numerical parity for the 2v2 when Inter attacked, not to be too high and to find space for the counter-attacks. Then we conceded… Inter hurt us in the first half with a corner kick and then with the counter-attacks.
“We had a good chance with Rafa… The reality is that we wanted to defend a little lower to avoid exactly what happened at the start of the second half. That goal complicated the match even more for us, even if the team fought with great generosity and will. In some episodes, we didn’t have that bit of luck that could have even given us a draw.”
17 points behind Inter, how do we look at this?
“It can be analysed, Inter have only lost one match, and allow me to say ‘by mistake’. They have had the strongest squad for 3-4 years, I don’t think anyone can have any doubts about this. We were lacking in the month in which we lost two games and drew two, then we were lacking in the continuity of high-level performances. This is reality. If the difference between Inter and the other teams is so notable, it means that they are really strong and the others must make steps forward.”
What did you miss against Roma and Inter?
“We made a very good start because after 8 games, we were first in the standings. Then after the break, we had that very difficult month and then we arrived at these games with 7 consecutive victories. The games against Roma were not what he desired ones.
“We were fine and we had all the most important players in great condition. Yet, we stalled and performed two times below our capabilities and didn’t achieve an objective we believed in. The derby arrived at that moment… I can’t blame my players for anything tonight for what they put on the pitch. It was one of the most balanced matches of the last derbies, but it wasn’t enough.”
Is this cycle at Milan over?
“I don’t know. I first heard your analysis on Simone Inzaghi, who 14 months ago seemed to be in difficulty and then instead did everything he did. I’m fine, I work well, and I think the team has room for improvement. Now we have to finish the season in the best possible way and then the evaluations will be made.”
Milan will take on Juventus next and due to the red cards of Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez, they will be stretched at the back. Fikay Tomori will also be suspended due to his yellow card, though most fans probably don’t care about this at the moment.