AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli believes that his side ‘didn’t approach the game well’ against Genoa as they needed 120 minutes to beat them and reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Pioli spoke to SportMediaset (via MilanNews) after the game and reflected on what was overall a lethargic performance from his side that was rescued by the impact from substitutes and being able to exploit a tired opponent in extra time.
“Obviously I didn’t do a great job because we didn’t approach the game well. If you don’t enter the pitch with the necessary attention, there are mistakes. It’s my fault. In the first half there was too little energy. We started too inattentive then we were good at getting it back but we have to work better. We wanted to get through the shift,” he said.
Pioli was also asked about the incisiveness of the left wing compared to the right side, given that the majority of Milan’s goals seem to come down the flank where Theo and Leao are.
“I don’t think that on the right wing we are less strong than the left. Also on the right we put in good balls with Florenzi, Messias and Saelemaekers. The team is balanced and we have to play at a high pace or we become predictable,” he said.
“The mistakes of the first half are due to a bad interpretation of the team, not due to individual mistakes. On the left we have players who are more able to beat the man.”
On the many injuries, he added: “We are coming out of it. In November we had too many injuries, forcing a lot of players to play more games. Now we are coming out of it, it is a difficult season, with so many variables but we have to be good at working and playing games as we usually do. The more players we have the better it is for the team also because having more characteristics is essential.”
Speaking of injuries, Tomori was put straight back into the starting line-up after recovering from Covid-19, partnering Matteo Gabbia at centre-back but he lasted just 23 minutes before he was replaced by Alessandro Florenzi because of a knee problem.
“Tomori felt a discomfort in his knee and could not play. Tomori is a very important player for us, tomorrow he will do some checks but we hope it is nothing serious. I hope to have him on Monday because we have other absences,” Pioli stated.
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Alhamdulah am so happy