AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali has admitted to feeling hurt by the Coppa Italia exit at the hands of Torino, stating that the team lacked ‘personality’.
It was the third time in four years that Milan had met Torino in the last 16 stage of the competition but unlike the previous two occasions they were unable to get through in what was a bitterly frustrating night in front of over 60,000 fans at San Siro.
When Djidji saw red with a large chunk of normal time remaining it seemed as though the Rossoneri would be able to make their numerical superiority and dominance pay, but they conceded a goal on the counter in the second half of extra time.
Interviewed by Mediaset after the game, the captain for the night Sandro Tonali commented on the elimination from the cup, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“It hurts, we’re disappointed but we’re lucky enough to have three other competitions and we’ll be playing in three days. We have to work hard and see what went wrong,” he said.
On what didn’t work: “I think that after the red card it was a different match, it was simpler from a game point of view. We had difficulty managing the dribble and we put in a lot of crosses. There are things we’ve approached well, even with guys who haven’t played much. We’re disappointed but we need to start again immediately.”
On whether it is a mental or physical problem: “We know that Toro are very physical and play man-on-man, we are Milan and we mustn’t have any problems. This is a game we had to win and play with more personality, knowing that we are a strong team looking for the desire to score goals. We managed the first 60 minutes well.”
Tonali spoke to Sky at the end of the game as well to offer more thoughts on the exit.
Too much conviction? “It’s hard not to score after a game like this, after you attack for the whole game and have only played for one goal since the 70th minute. Yes, we were convinced because we were in charge of the match on the pitch and only we attacked. We paid perhaps the only inattention during extra time.”
Where needs to improve? “In all, a little of everything needs to be improved. We are a great team, we play well and have fun: however we know that it may not be enough. We have to stay together, make a point and think about the next game.”
