Capello warns Milan and Allegri after beating Lazio with ‘too much difficulty’

Fabio Capello has sent a warning to AC Milan and Massimiliano Allegri after the win against Lazio, stating that they clinched all three points with ‘too much difficulty’. 

Yesterday’s performance was far from brilliant by Milan, especially in the first half when they struggled to create chances. Similarly to the derby against Inter, however, they needed just one proper chance to turn the game in their favour, taking the lead through Rafael Leao.

The Rossoneri are now top of the standings, at least until tonight, and there are many positives to take from the situation as a whole. However, in his editorial for Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, the legendary manager Capello sent a warning to the team.

“Maignan saves, Leao scores. Okay, the formula is right and Milan are top of the Serie A standings, awaiting Roma-Napoli. Substance is what counts, and Allegri can certainly be satisfied, even if, looking at the form, I think there are some things to highlight.

“Indeed, Milan beat Lazio with too much difficulty: aside from the final thrills over the possible penalty incident that the referee ultimately denied, I saw a team that was too passive in the first half of the match.

“For 20-25 minutes in the first half, Lazio controlled the match, and without Maignan’s miracle, the evening could have turned out differently. I think Milan should always dominate at San Siro.

“Given their characteristics, I imagined Sarri’s team could cause problems for Milan, with their tight passing and ability to close down all spaces when not in possession, but the Rossoneri’s attitude was far too resigned.

“Probably also because, for once, we witnessed a ‘human’ performance from the phenomenon known as Luka Modric: the Croatian made more mistakes than usual, and it’s no coincidence that his teammates struggled to win the ball back,” he wrote.

Milan and Lazio will take on each other again next week, this time in the Coppa Italia, and it will be interesting to see if Allegri will have any solutions for the struggles. Then, the Rossoneri will be up against Torino in the league.