Gennaro Gattuso felt Milan’s opening 20 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Cagliari were “embarrassing” and the idea of challenging for second place is “laughable.”
The Rossoneri went behind after four minutes to a Joao Pedro goal, but Gonzalo Higuain snatched an equaliser in the second half.
“Starting the game the way we did with those first 20 minutes was embarrassing,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Gennaro Gattuso felt Milan’s opening 20 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Cagliari were “embarrassing” and the idea of challenging for second place is “laughable.”
The Rossoneri went behind after four minutes to a Joao Pedro goal, but Gonzalo Higuain snatched an equaliser in the second half.
“Starting the game the way we did with those first 20 minutes was embarrassing,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“If you go 2-0 down in that match, you’re not going to recover from that. We have to resolve these issues, because our attitude in the first 20 minutes was awful. We came out fighting in the second half, but it’s not enough. Cagliari deserved to be 2-0 up at the break and we would’ve been dealing with a completely different match.
“Right now both I and those who represent the club have to ensure these young players realise just how good they are, because a lot of them don’t get it yet. We knew it’d be difficult in Sardinia, but we can’t be angry at the final whistle because we wanted to win it. We should’ve thought of that earlier.”
Higuain scored his first goal in a Milan jersey, pouncing on a loose ball to go round the goalkeeper, but was at times visibly frustrated at the lack of service.
“Higuain is coming back deep so much and in the first half-hour I didn’t see a single forward run from the midfield. We’ve got to push forward and try more through balls, not just with Lucas Biglia.”
Juventus are the only side unbeaten after three rounds, so with Inter, Roma and Napoli stuttering, Gattuso was asked if Milan can target the top spots.
“It’s laughable. There is a long road ahead of us and if we can’t win this type of game, and in fact I thought we were lucky to get a point, then it makes me laugh to hear people say we’re the second or third top team in Serie A. If we manage to improve certain aspects, then we can go far.
“This team has the passion and the grit, but needs a punch in the teeth before it pulls that out. We’ve got to read games better and have the right attitude.
“In the first 20 minutes, we did the exact opposite of everything we had prepared. If we want to be protagonists this season, we can’t afford to do that.”