AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has revealed that the defeat to Juventus is one that ‘hurts’ because the team wanted a good result ‘at all costs’.
The Rossoneri saw their unbeaten run in Serie A ended at 27 games by the champions as Federico Chiesa’s brace and Weston McKennie’s goal off the bench saw Juve run out 3-1 winners at San Siro, rendering Davide Calabria’s fantastic equaliser a mere flash in the pan on a difficult night for a team decimated by suspension problems.
Pioli was interviewed by Milan TV at the end of the game.
What will you say to the team? “The result hurts, it is useless to deny it. We wanted a positive result at all costs. We are experiencing feelings that we haven’t experienced for a long time,” he said.
“Understanding how bad you feel after a defeat will allow us to keep them away. The performance was there, then tomorrow we will see the details in which we did less well. In defeat we must find certainties, we have them. It will not be a defeat to take them away.
“We conceded goals when it seemed that we could be the most dangerous, but when you face such strong opponents you have to be careful. When you offer one-on-one against certain opponents you can also suffer.
“This was only an important step, we had prepared well but unfortunately we are going home without points. Now we have to think about recovering energy because there is another important match [against Torino].”
On recovering some injured players: “I hope, it won’t be easy. We must continue to believe in ourselves, we must continue to believe that the next match is the most important one and prepare it well.”
READ MORE: How Juventus ended Milan’s unbeaten record
The very important absentees made the difference. Besides the bench is too short to play three competitions at the same time. However the team gave all, with no fear of the adversaries. But some payers are not up to AC Milan. Hopefully, they will get few more players in the crucial roles.