Samuele Ricci did not hide his disappointment after AC Milan were put to the sword by Udinese at San Siro on Saturday evening.
If the formation change was meant to bring a new lease of life to Milan’s attack, instead it kicked open the defensive door and allowed Udinese to flood in at will. They were 2-0 up at the break thanks to an own-goal from a deflected Arthur Atta cross and a header from Ekkelenkamp.
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In the second half they widened the margin even further as Atta was this time accredited with a goal, and as the jeers rained down at San Siro it was very clear that it wasn’t the Rossoneri’s night. Now, the gap to fifth place could end up being trimmed to three points, depending on other results.
Ricci was given a rare start on the right side of a midfield three and he spoke to DAZN to offer his thoughts on a difficult night for the team. MilanNews relayed what he had to say.
How did Udinese hurt you?
“It wasn’t an easy match to analyse. It was important for us, we needed to send a signal, which we didn’t. The first thing that comes to mind is that we were too frenetic in possession, which led to us being hit on the counter-attack. Then we conceded a goal…
“A night to forget. We need to build on the group we’ve built since the start of the season; we have 63 points, and there’s a reason. It’s definitely a difficult time that we need to get through, and the only way to do that is through hard work during the week and focusing on ourselves.”
Why wasn’t there this signal today? Does the Scudetto dream fading hurt?
“Nothing’s changed, it’s just a difficult moment in the season. It can happen. Many things just don’t work out for us. Maybe even today’s match, given how it went, led us to fall apart earlier, to find less cohesion and order.
“It’s a very harsh result, which we didn’t want. It’s disappointing for us and for the fans. The only way forward is to move on.”
Does this new formation suit your style more?
“Aside from the system, which can be 3-5-2 or 4-3-3, you have to see how you perform on the pitch. Today we were there but we didn’t show up, even though we created some things. We weren’t able to convert.
“Maybe at 2-0, if Saelemaekers had scored, it would have changed the game, I don’t know… We were missing something compared to other games, we were less present. It should make us reflect. Now the only way is to immediately think about the next one.”
Says the invisible man!!
Played out of his natural position. Same as Leao and Pulišić. Get your facts right and stop acting like a little noisy b*tch.
I see a top player in there, his time will come. Too bad Modric is not young anymore, which could affect his performances when he start playing twice a week.