Vincenzo Montella was “very proud” of Milan despite their 3-2 defeat to Inter and contested the penalty. “If we play with this spirit, we won’t lose again.”
Mauro Icardi bagged a hat-trick, including a last-gasp penalty for Ricardo Rodriguez’s embrace on Danilo D’Ambrosio, after Suso and Jack Bonaventura goals.
Vincenzo Montella was “very proud” of Milan despite their 3-2 defeat to Inter and contested the penalty. “If we play with this spirit, we won’t lose again.”
Mauro Icardi bagged a hat-trick, including a last-gasp penalty for Ricardo Rodriguez’s embrace on Danilo D’Ambrosio, after Suso and Jack Bonaventura goals.
“D’Ambrosio was very smart… Losing a game like that at the 90th minute for an incident like that, I prefer not to see it again,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“We put in a great second half performance and I am really proud, as we played with Milan soul, we played the way I like. It’s a shame we didn’t get points from it, but the principles of football are on the right track and we can feel optimistic after this.
“I see the glass half-full and the desire to continue this project.”
Montella also disputed the idea that Inter dominated the first half and Milan came out fighting for the second with Patrick Cutrone in place of Franck Kessie.
“Inter hit the bar in the first half and scored with a goal that could’ve been stopped. They were clinical, far more than us, but I urge the players to use this spirit in future, because if we play like this, we won’t lose again.
“I think the match changed because we pulled out the pride and determination to prove ourselves. It’s hard to introduce a new project with so many new players, especially when you don’t get as much time to work together in training.
“Inter were lethal on the counter-attack, which is their characteristic. We could’ve made a lot more of the spaces in the first half and we had worked on these situations. Unfortunately, we were unlucky on the goals.”
Montella was again asked if he should go back to last season’s 4-3-3 approach, but explained the problems.
“We can’t play with 4-3-3, because we play every three days and only have Suso and Bonaventura on the wings, so they can’t play all the time. We did not change our system to 3-5-2 because of Leonardo Bonucci.”
With four defeats from the opening eight rounds, Milan are now 12 points off leaders Napoli and seven adrift of the top four.
“Looking at the table right now, everything might seem out of reach, but the season is very long and we can make up ground. This squad has quality, despite what some might say, and I thought even a draw would’ve been harsh on us today considering all the chances created.
“I believe a top four finish is absolutely possible.”