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Massimiliano Allegri had mixed emotions after his AC Milan side scored a late goal to beat relegation battlers Pisa.
Milan faced a Pisa side that had not won in 13 games going into tonight’s contest, and despite taking the lead through Ruben Loftus-Cheek they made very hard work of things. The game seemed to swing on Niclas Füllkrug’s missed penalty, with the substitute rolling the ball wide from 12 yards.
However, Luka Modric ended up being the hero in Tuscany, popping up inside the box after a one-two with Samuele Ricci to lift the ball over the goalkeeper with less than six minutes remaining. It was a big result for Milan however it came, given that Inter-Juventus and Napoli-Roma come this weekend.
Allegri’s post-Pisa reaction
Allegri spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle to try and pick apart what was a rollercoaster of a game for his side, including a late red card for Adrien Rabiot. MilanNews transcribed what he had to say.
In the first half you asked Loftus-Cheek to go into the box and he scored, in the second half you said that your team need to show their attributes and Modric’s goal came…
“It wasn’t easy tonight. Pisa are a tough team. We took risks in the first half. It seems like they’re waiting for you, they’ll take you out of the game, and then they’ll hit you on the counter-attack. Even at 1-1, we were caught off guard by a free-kick.
“Let’s take the three points. The boys played well, but we absolutely need to improve after this match. We’ve only played two games in 15 days, so it wasn’t easy either.”
You inherited an eighth-placed Milan, now you’re on 23 consecutive unbeaten games. Did you expect a Milan with this mentality?
“I can’t say anything about last year, it’s not even fair to say. I can only say that this team has important technical qualities. Every now and then we slow down a little, we need to take a small step forward because the group has extraordinary qualities.
“The boys know they’ve achieved a lot so far. But the season can change in a week. Tonight wasn’t easy: it was the sixth away game in the last nine, so now we’ll have eight home and six away games in the last 14.”
What is it like coaching Modric?
“What can I say? He’s an extraordinary player. Regardless of his technical ability, which is wonderful, he ultimately tried to get this win. It was more a technical play and a character play.
“We all have to learn from him, he has incredible humility. We’re happy to have him. The younger players need to take advantage of this time where we’re working and training together.”
How are Pulisic and Leao doing? And Fullkrug?
“Penalties are missed… It was a crucial moment, we could have gone 2-0 up, but it’s normal to miss them. Pulisic came on very well, as did Leao, and it’s normal that they need to improve their fitness. These are decisions that are very important even during the game.”
Is it better for Juventus or Inter to lose points tomorrow?
“The important thing is that we got three points. We’re on 53, one win shy of our goal. Now we’ll catch up with the Como game and then we’ll see.”
English (US) ·