Milan’s painful Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund was another blemish on Stefano Pioli’s record, prompting criticism from the Italian press.
The Rossoneri needed to secure victory against their German opponents in order to give themselves a chance of reaching the Round of 16 of the Champions League, but they fell in a disappointing 3-1 loss after goals from Marco Reus, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Karim Adeyami.
The result leaves Milan bottom of Group F after five games, sitting two points behind second-place Paris Saint-Germain. They’ll need to beat Newcastle and hope Dortmund take victory over the Parisians in order to qualify for the knockout stages.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reflected on Pioli’s work in the loss to Dortmund, criticising the team’s work and their reliance on Dortmund’s result in the next game, writing: “The Diavolo first doesn’t find their way to the goal, the pace was often low, then they fell apart. Retaliation, now they have to cheer for their opponents from yesterday.”
Corriere dello Sport echoed these sentiments and underlined Milan’s failure to respond on the pitch, commenting: “It should have been the night of the turning point, but in a negative way it was. Milan were once again disappointing. Qualification compromised.”
Tuttosport were even more disappointed in Pioli and his Milan side, highlighting their insufficient gameplan and continued injury crisis, saying: “Unfortunate performance, but yet another injury, holes in the defensive phase and slow moves don’t play in their favour. And qualification is now a pipe dream.”
Corriere della Sera didn’t want to hear any excuses after the Rossoneri’s frustrating defeat and asked for a different showing against Newcastle, writing: “Let’s leave bad luck alone, please. In the end the defeat is clear, now the Champions League is hanging by a thin thread. Only one certainty, in Newcastle, to seriously try, we’ll need another Milan.”
Pioli’s ratings in the Italian newspapers
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 5
Corriere dello Sport: 5
Tuttosport: 4.5
Corriere della Sera: 5