AC Milan would be looking for redemption in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League tie with FC Crvena Zvezda, as the Rossoneri’s were denied victory, 2-2 it went in the encounter. Club manager Stefano Pioli bemoaned the underwhelming display pulled by his side.
Pioli’s men broke the deadlock – with opponent Radovan Pankov scoring into his net at the 42nd minute– after they were unlucky with two goals canceled out Tasos Sidiropoulos. Ten minutes after, Zvezda’s Guelor Kanga canceled out the goal deficit scored by Pankov from the penalty spot.
It took AC Milan good 61 minutes to start reducing the deficit courtesy of Theo Hernandez. Milan Pavkov dashed the hope of Dejan Stankovic’s army of victory against AC Milan, even though their counterparts were one man down.
But Stefano Pioli stated his side did not win due to the fact they are bereft of the making of the right decision, hence they are not slammed with injury problems. The then Fiorentina manager said the team needs to be ‘back in the form’.
But there is a blow for the club as Algeria’s Ismael Bennacer has picked up a knock at the encounter with the Red Star and won’t be lined up next Sunday against league leaders Inter Milan
“Tonight we didn’t win because we lacked personality in the decisive moments, not because of physical issues. The truly negative news is Bennacer getting injured again, we thought we had done everything to avoid taking risks but he felt pain again, it’s a shame because he’s a player that was improving a lot and will have to stop again” said the former Lazio manager
“This could have been more positive but it remains a good result. This came at an important time for our season both in Europa League and Serie A. We aren’t struggling physically; a few months ago we also had numerous injuries. We need to gain back our form, but physically we are fine” he said
Pioli spoke about the mysteries of Milan derby between his side and Inter Milan, boasting of his squad qualities. He charged his squad to up their games.
“The derbies have always been even and with goals, I think those who manage to concede less will have more chances of winning. We have our qualities, they have theirs. The challenge comes at the right time, we want to be ready.” He charged
After the Milan derby on Sunday, the second-placed Serie A club will play Zvezda in the UEL return leg on Sunday
