5 days ago
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Massimiliano Allegri has insisted that the friendly defeat to Chelsea was not a disaster, despite the way the scoreline makes it look.
Milan fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat in their final preseason game at Stamford Bridge. Andrei Coubis scored an early own-goal and Joao Pedro doubled the advantage, then things went from bad to worse for Coubis as he got a red card for a last-man challenge.
Liam Delap scored a brace in the second half including one from the penalty spot, either side of a Youssouf Fofana consolation that rewarded some of the Rossoneri’s bright attacking play. It means that Milan end preseason with two wins, two losses and a draw.
The coach’s reflection
Allegri spoke to Sky Italia after the full-time whistle to give his thoughts on the final preseason run-out, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
The pre-season didn’t end in the best way…
“We’ve finished a month of preparation where there were no injuries. Starting Tuesday, we’ll be able to prepare as best we can for the Coppa Italia. Paradoxically, today, with 10 men, we performed better; we were more organised.
“We could have been more focused; these are things we’ll fix. We’ll have to focus differently; Sunday is a knockout match. Now we’ll have to work with complete composure.”
There were some defensive errors…
“We’ve improved a bit as a team, not just as defenders. We need to keep working. Conceding a goal after seven minutes on a dead ball, even on the second goal, we could have defended a bit better.
“The boys showed me good spirit. It’s disappointing when you lose, but it doesn’t change the value of the team. The important thing is that no one got hurt; we’re returning to Milan after two games in two days in good shape.”
Malick Thiaw is leaving…
“It’s a shame he’s gone. The club is looking for a replacement, but that’s the way the transfer market works: we have to accept it and keep working. I have some excellent players in the squad who have made themselves available to each other.”
Leao led the attack…
“Leao has raised his level of focus, his performances have become more demanding. We had chances, we could have been more aggressive.”
Now signing a defender is more urgent than a striker…
“Let’s see. The club is working with Tare. We have Gabbia, Pavlovic, and Tomori; we have three defenders to play next Sunday. If he arrives this week, great; otherwise, we’ll wait.”
A debut for Modric…
“He arrived 10 days ago, he needs to work. He had 30 minutes, he played 45. The expulsion changed the plans, he was supposed to come on for Musah who played 70 minutes after yesterday’s 60 minutes. He needs to improve his condition, he’s behind the others.”
It is a score that makes it seem like today was a disaster…
“It’s not a disaster, it’s summer football. We need to learn and improve on details like set pieces. I’m happy with how we’ve worked this month, now the season begins: the most important one and also the most fun.”
English (US) ·