After the game between AC Milan and Lecce, which ended in a disappointing 2-2 draw for the former, Stefano Pioli shared his thoughts with the media. He stated that the mistakes made certainly could have been avoided.
The Rossoneri started the game well and within 35 minutes, they were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Tijjani Reijnders. They even had chances to score more and that continued in the second half, up until Lecce scored their first. Then, unfortunately, a second also arrived.
Speaking to DAZN after the game, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli highlighted the fact that Lecce’s first goal was almost identical to the one conceded against PSG. He also stated that there is a lot to work on, losing yet another game they had in their hands.
Strange and crazy match. What do you take with you?
“I’m absolutely not satisfied. In the second half, we played with a frenzy that doesn’t represent us. We needed to control the game better and manage the ball better. We had two chances to go 3-0 up. We gave the opponents space and they punished us. We conceded the same goal from a corner as on Tuesday against PSG. These are mistakes that we are paying for dearly.”
Is the original sin not having killed the game?
“There were opportunities to close the match, 3-0 probably would have closed the match. Not having succeeded should have made us maintain better compactness. Unfortunately, once again we were unable to win a match we could have won.”
After PSG, was there a risk of underestimating the opponents?
“It shouldn’t be like this, let’s say that the possibility of not approaching a match like today after the Champions League match was there but we did approach it well. It cannot be that a goal conceded, in a match in which you were in control, makes you lose everything you were doing. Yet you can also see on the second goal: we had the ball, there was a teammate on the ground, we could have managed it better. We could have put the ball out to get help but instead, we conceded a goal.
“We are making mistakes of frenzy and clarity that have prevented us from winning two games that we could have won. Having gone ahead by two goals in almost two consecutive games and not being able to bring the points home is disappointing.”
The conditions of the injured…
“Calabria and Leao had flexor injuries, both of which need to be evaluated. I put Musah and not Florenzi because he was more suited to the level of pace and speed of the only Lecce player who could create difficulties for us in these situations.”
Mental continuity is lacking throughout the 90 minutes…
“We have to work on it, we are losing points which penalize us in the standings and take us away from the top, these are situations that we will have to face well and work on. It’s normal that when you see matches slip away, you can also lose a bit of clarity: it shouldn’t happen but that’s what happened at the end.”
Reijnders finally got on the scoresheet…
“He times his run into the box excellently. He is a technical and intelligent player. That he must be an effective player in the attacking zone, yes, today he did it and he could have even scored more goals. He absolutely must continue like this because he is a player of great quality.”
Milan will face Fiorentina after the break and it remains to be seen if Rafael Leao will be available. He went off with an injury today and, in addition to that, Olivier Giroud was sent off for dissent and will also miss the game.
