Stefano Pioli concedes Milan ‘should have done more’ against Salernitana and explains Olivier Giroud’s substitution: ‘He scored a great goal, but the performance was not excellent.’
The Rossoneri boss spoke to DAZN after Milan’s 1-1 draw against Salernitana at San Siro.
A win would have allowed the Rossoneri to climb to second place level on 50 points with Inter, but the draw means they remain in fourth, only one point above José Mourinho’s Roma.
“We should have played at a higher level and we conceded too much space for their goal,” the Italian tactician said.
“We know how to read these situations better. It was avoidable, we should have done better. We were a bit unlucky as well in some situations.
“We did not defend as a unit, we were more frenetic after their goal and not in control of the game,” continued Pioli.
The Rossoneri broke the deadlock with Giroud before the break, but the France striker was subbed off in the second half, minutes after collecting a yellow card that will force him to the sidelines against Udinese in the next round.
“He scored a great goal, but the performance wasn’t excellent. I hoped reserves would have a different impact,” admitted Pioli.
Did Milan’s defensive issues have anything to do with a three-man defence?
“It’s about positioning and principles, not systems,” insisted Pioli.
“A team needs two things to defend well: everyone must be available and players must help each other. When there are these two things, we can work well. We always play as a team. It’s a pity because we wanted to make the most of this chance.
“If you see their goal, three players didn’t track back after a throw-in, it should never happen. We were too stretched and too open. We’ll watch it again and make our assessment.”
Milan will face Udinese at the Dacia Arena before the international break in March while the first game of April is away at Napoli.