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Massimiliano Allegri has hit out at how Cesc Fabregas acted before his red card, and assessed AC Milan’s draw with Como.
There has been a bit of needle between Milan and Como since the former won 3-1 at the Stadio Sinigaglia back in January 15, in a game where Cesc Fabregas was keen to point out how much possession and how many chances they had.
For the fourth game in a row between these two sides, it was Como who took the lead. In truth it was a gift from Mike Maignan whose pass out from the back was intercepted and slotted in by Nico Paz.
Rafael Leao’s equaliser was a bit of a gift too, as he ran onto a long Ardon Jashari ball over the top to lob Jean Butez from about 25 yards out, but it would remain 1-1 in the end. The draw means Milan are seven points behind Inter, with 12 games left.
‘Unexpected things can happen’
Allegri saw red in the closing stages as tempers boiled over near the dugouts, and after the game he spoke to DAZN to give his thoughts on the game, which MilanNews relayed.
Is there still a long way to go?
“You always need to be very calm. We were coming off two away wins, and facing Como tonight wasn’t easy. The first half was evenly balanced. Making mistakes is normal in football; we went behind, and the team reacted well.
“At 1-1, we could have capitalised on some better opportunities, but let’s say we’ve gained a point over Juventus, Napoli, and Roma. We just need to focus on getting back to winning ways against Parma.”
You often looked for the ball behind Como’s defensive line. That’s where the goal came from…
“Especially because the first half was very evenly matched, even boring. In the second half, it wasn’t easy to come back, and we attacked the line on a counter-attack, leaving them exposed. Rafa did very well to score, and Jashari did well to set him up with that important ball.
“This is our 24th consecutive positive result. We need to stay calm, focus on working, and recover the key players we have. Meanwhile, Saelemaekers is back, Pulisic is improving, as is Leao, and Fullkrug came on very well as always.
“We need to be confident, stay calm, and focus on working. We’re still within our objective for the moment, and tonight’s point will be very important.”
What happened for the red card?
“I think there was a foul, where, among other things, if I’m not mistaken, Saelemaekers was trying to restart play and was pulled back by someone on the bench, Fabregas I think. He apologised? I understand, so if next time someone goes down the line, I’ll slide tackle them.
“Saelemaekers reacted angrily, I went over there trying to defend my player, then someone came up to me, I don’t know who, but nothing really happened.”
How is Pavlovic?
“Fortunately he’s fine.”
Are you even more focused on the Champions League or are there still some ambitions for the Scudetto?
“Football is beautiful because unexpected things can happen overnight, the standings can be turned upside down in a week. What we need to do is keep working and get results.
“On Sunday, we have a home game against an opponent who doesn’t give much away: we need to keep winning to maintain our lead over the chasing teams.”
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