Ignazio Abate is struggling to understand the eight-point gap between his Milan side and League leaders Napoli.
The Azzurri joined Roma at the top of the table last night thanks to a 2-1 victory at San Siro against the Diavolo.
Ignazio Abate is struggling to understand the eight-point gap between his Milan side and League leaders Napoli.
The Azzurri joined Roma at the top of the table last night thanks to a 2-1 victory at San Siro against the Diavolo.
“If we look at the performance the gap between us and Napoli is non-existent,” the Italian international noted.
“Even at 2-0 down we were alive and kicking. If we scored with the penalty [from Mario Balotelli] or maybe if the shot that hit the crossbar had gone in, the result might well be different.
“We started with a bit of fear for no apparent reason. I still can’t give myself an explanation. We played maybe the best first half of this season but we weren’t able to finish.”
The Rossoneri have collected just one win and one draw from their opening four Serie A games of the campaign. They will play Bologna in midweek.
“We have four points and a lot of work to do,” the right-back continued. “We have to win, for us, for the League table and that starts on Wednesday.
“We have to find more balance with the tactics that we’re using in the new formation. Compared to the start of last season, we have more identity but maybe we're missing a bit of competitiveness.
“I think we have some work to do with our self-confidence as well as this team really has quality – we just have to be more cynical.”