Arrigo Sacchi believes that AC Milan were far from at their best against Red Bull Salzburg and has picked out an issue they encountered.
Milan and Red Bull Salzburg played out a 1-1 draw in the opening game of their Champions League group stage campaign in what was a tactically intriguing affair but also one perhaps conditioned by the fatigue from Saturday’s derby win over Inter.
Before the game there was a lot of talk about Salzburg’s immense pressing ability, one that has certainly seem them have success in the competition so far given that they reached the knockout stages last season and even drew with Bayern Munich at home.
Interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sacchi spoke about the game between the Austrian and Italian champions and what was learned from a game in which the spoils were ultimately shares, with his comments relayed by SempreMilan.it.
“A game worth a score of 6 [out of 10]. At most 6+. In short, it was not an excellent performance. The Rossoneri suffered from the very high pace imposed by Salzburg. In Europe, pressing is the bread in all teams, except ours,” he began.
“The Austrians did not have great champions, they were almost all young players, yet they were able to cope with a team like Milan thanks to the organisation, compactness and rhythm.
“The derby was a Serie A match and in Italy it is played in a certain way, tactics are the first quality. In Europe it is different and Salzburg made AC Milan understand that there is a need to improve.
“In general, however, the Rossoneri are on the right path and I liked Pioli’s words at the end of the match. He said he was not fully satisfied and this speech must enter the players’ heads.
“Sometimes Milan stretch too far and when you stretch too far you are no longer a team, you are no longer able to press with the right timing, you lack synchronisation, the players are too far from each other. Here, Stefano has to work on this aspect.”
