Arrigo Sacchi believes that AC Milan have once again demonstrated a lack of unity on the field, but stressed his belief that Stefano Pioli deserves more time to put things right.
Milan’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League were all but ended last night as they lost 3-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund. Olivier Giroud missed an early penalty then at the other end Marco Reus scored one, and that would set the tone for the night.
Malick Thiaw’s injury forced Rade Krunic to come on at centre-back and that appeared to be a big turning point in the game. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens put the away side 2-1 up, and then Karim Adeyemi scored 10 minutes later to seal the deal.
Sacchi spoke in a post-match column for La Gazzetta dello Sport in which he gave his thoughts on the nightmare against Dortmund and what he saw on the field which gave him a lot of concern.
“The first thing that comes to me to write, and I write it with great regret, is that Milan have shown that they are not yet a team. And if you’re not a team, if you’re not a collective, if you play individually, if you don’t have the correct distances between departments and if you don’t press, you’re in trouble in Europe,” he said.
“This is what the match at San Siro against Borussia Dortmund said. Now the road to qualification for the Rossoneri is an almost impossible climb, a sort of Mortirolo to climb. I hope they succeed, even if other results have to be added, but the reality is that this Milan does not give peace of mind, does not convey security, does not have the necessary balance.
“It’s true that Giroud’s missed penalty perhaps affected the performance, but it’s equally true that Pioli’s boys managed to get the match back on track. Chukwueze’s goal was beautiful, an appreciable, courageous action, which however was not followed by others. And here lies the problem.
“Too many ups and downs during the same match and too many inattentions, especially in the defensive department. Look at the Germans’ 2-1 goal: the Rossoneri are poorly positioned, one goes to double the man, doesn’t get the ball and leaves the opponent free on the outside.
“These errors, at an international level, are paid for: it is inevitable. Just as it is inevitable to think that this team was built this summer by introducing many new faces, especially foreigners, and it takes a lot of time to give a clear identity to the whole group.
“Another detail not to be overlooked: Milan arrived at this match with their men counted. Pioli had little chance of redesigning the line-up with substitutions. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Thiaw also got hurt: the issue of chain injuries is weighing heavily on the construction of the team and a remedy must be found as soon as possible.
“It cannot be said that the commitment was lacking. Far from it. Whoever took the field gave everything they had. The trouble is that this ‘everything’ was not enough to overcome the obstacle and this defeat risks jeopardising the next period.
“In these conditions the psychological stability of the team is fundamental and it is above all on this aspect that Pioli will work so that his men do not fall into depression. Against the Germans I saw Chukwueze well, excellent ideas, good speed, but it’s the collective in general that didn’t work as it should have.
“Sometimes Milan are too stretched, not very compact and in this way the fundamental collaboration between the departments is missing. The growth process is still ongoing, this is quite evident and it is also normal that this is the case considering how many players were purchased in the summer.
“If it takes nine months to make a baby, do we want to give a coach the right amount of time to give substance to his project? I know that patience is a quality unknown to the fans, I know that everyone would like the best from the start of the season, but in this case it is necessary to wait, think, reflect and insist on the ideas that have been proposed to the players. Haste, in football as in life, is never a good advisor.”
