Arrigo Sacchi was scathing of AC Milan’s performance during the first leg of last night’s Champions League semi-final against Inter, claiming it showed their immaturity.
Milan were absolutely rocked during the first half an hour of the game as they conceded twice in the opening 11 minutes through goals from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan before Hakan Calhanoglu rattled the post and Mike Maignan was called to make a couple of big saves.
While the second half marked an improvement from Stefano Pioli’s men they were unable to get a goal and that means they have it all to do in next Tuesday’s second leg if they are to reach the final.
Former Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi gave his usual post-match thoughts in a column for La Gazzetta dello Sport in which he laid into the team for their first half approach.
“It is difficult to explain the reason for such an approach to such an eagerly awaited challenge: too much tension, too many nerves? I don’t know, you’d have to be inside the Rossoneri environment to answer that,” he said.
“What I would like to point out is that Milan did badly defensively and badly attacking-wise: they seemed confused and confusing, they never attempted to press. They were a spread team, a very spread team: sometimes the television shot couldn’t show the first and last players…
“How can you think of putting in a good performance if these are the conditions? There was no doubling of marking, Inter moved as they believed and as they wanted, Mkhitaryan’s second goal is the mirror of Milan’s defensive action: how can you let an opponent enter the penalty area without resisting?
“And on the 1-0 goal I’m left with a doubt: I don’t think Calabria, due to his physical build, is the most suitable man to mark Dzeko. There’s a difference in stature and athletic energy between the two.
“Inter, who deserved their success, showed that they are on the ball both physically and mentally. And this victory will certainly help the whole group to believe even more in their own strengths and possibilities.
“Simone Inzaghi’s team, solid and organised, took full advantage of their rivals’ mistakes, built the move by always pushing up the forwards, who did a great job, both offensively and defensively.
“If indeed a shadow must be found in the Nerazzurri’s performance, it is that of having chosen to manage the game at certain moments, especially in the second half, when they probably could have pushed even harder on the accelerator to close the accounts definitively.
“In the first half, and also in the first part of the second, I admired Dzeko’s intelligence. Apart from the goal, I saw a centre forward who, with his movements, sometimes attacking space and sometimes dropping deep, allowed all his teammates to play better.
“I repeat: if the Nerazzurri had been more daring in the second half, perhaps they could have put an end to the qualification conversation.
“Milan, after being really embarrassing in the first half, at least tried to play in the second half and even came close to scoring with Tonali hitting the post. But in general they never showed that they could come back.
“The fact is that Inter are stronger than Milan in one-on-one situations: from a technical point of view and in terms of experience. The Rossoneri had only one possibility: to play ‘as a team’, to move all eleven both in possession and in non-possession.
“This simple rule has not been put into practice and so Milan have shown serious immaturity. It is true that Leao was missing, it is true that Bennacer was injured almost immediately, but these are not enough excuses to justify such a performance.
“The Rossoneri must necessarily focus on the team. When they don’t, they face these delusions. There’s the second leg, all right, there’s still a chance, but a real feat is needed to get to the final.
“Right now, after the first leg, Inter have more than one foot in the final. And in Istanbul, with the quality of the individuals available to Inzaghi, whether they are up against Real Madrid or Manchester City, the Nerazzurri will be able to have their say. And maybe surprise everyone.”
