Stefano Pioli insists he has ‘no regrets’ over his decisions in the Derby della Madonnina defeat to Inter, including a Rafael Leao snub. ‘I am certain we’d have struggled even more tonight.’
The crisis continues, despite the coach attempting some radical changes including a 3-5-2 formation and dropping Rafael Leao to the bench for the second game in a row, as it was a 1-0 defeat to their arch-rivals.
It made little difference, as the Rossoneri had just 26 per cent possession in the first half and the best opportunity saw Olivier Giroud’s first touch let him down on a Leao assist.
Once again, Milan’s defending from set plays was disastrous, beaten by a Lautaro Martinez header on Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner.
“Clearly, we wanted to have a more solid attitude in defence and sat deeper. We didn’t defend badly, but we also should’ve passed it around better and that was why we didn’t manage to counter more in the first half.
“Unfortunately, we were once again unprepared on a set play, otherwise we had worked well as a team. We didn’t do much attacking in the first half, but that was certainly better after the break.”
Pioli had always been proud during the Scudetto run that Milan took an attacking approach first and aiming to play beautiful football, but this was a radical shift.
“It’s clear recently we had not been solid defensively, so we thought these were the right positions to take against a team like Inter. It was still not our intention to only defend, we struggled to get past their initial press, including their strikers.
“As a coach, I have a clear view of the situation. I am certain that if we had played our usual brand of football, we’d have struggled even more tonight. We have lost something from then, we were more solid today and can build on that, but also need to be more aggressive and attacking.
“This is not throwing away all the work we’ve achieved, it is realising there are moments when you need to take a different approach to get back to being competitive.”
Pioli was asked what Leao has to do in order to get his place back in the starting XI, having been now dropped twice in a row against Sassuolo and Inter, and if with hindsight he regrets that decision.
“Leao has immense potential, I chose to play with two strikers close together to cause problems for the Inter defence, even if it didn’t happen much. Leao needs to work to be more active throughout the game.
“I don’t regret it, because considering all I saw during the week and in this match, the positions I wanted to take and the shape of the team, this was the right choice.”
With a fourth consecutive defeat in all competition, scoring two goals and conceding 13, the pressure is growing on Pioli.
They are out of the Coppa Italia, lost the Supercoppa Italiana 3-0 to Inter in Riyadh last month and are now in sixth place, already six points adrift of second-place Inter.
“The negative games took away some of our belief, which is natural, because this team is still not that mature. Several players are not in good condition and we struggled to deal with that.
“Losing the derby does not help our morale, but I think tonight we rediscovered some of the solidity, focus and determination that can allow us to get back to our level.”