Stefano Pioli insists Milan ‘deserved a victory’ against Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final, but the 0-0 is ‘a good result’ considering they were the ‘home’ team.
The Rossoneri had the best chances overall, especially a Rafael Leao curler well saved by Samir Handanovic, but the game ended 0-0.
That is a positive result for Milan, because that means if the second leg is a score draw, then they will qualify on ‘away’ goals, as they were technically the ‘home’ team tonight.
It’d be the same situation as the Champions League semi-final of 2003.
“Milan played well and deserved something more, but if we look at it over the two legs, it is a good result. I still think we deserved a victory this evening,” Pioli told Mediaset.
“It’s only a partial result, we know the second will be very difficult, but I am satisfied with the performance. We’ve made progress over the last two and a half years, we would like to win something and make this a wonderful season.
“I chose the team that was best for this particular match, based also on tactical characteristics. I was not thinking about Napoli at all. That is another very tough test, but the tougher the obstacle, the more satisfying it is to overcome.”
Sandro Tonali was suspended this evening, while Alessio Romagnoli pulled out with an injury after 25 minutes.
“The team was aggressive against an Inter side with a great deal of quality. I think Bennacer and Kessie had a great game, we didn’t allow Inter any real shots on goal and had chances of our own.
“I considered the options very carefully and wanted an aggressive, energetic team with options off the bench. It’s disappointing we were unable to win the match and it all goes down to the second leg. I really liked the performance and we should gain even more confidence from it, because we are a team who belong at this level.”
Milan have struggled to score goals lately, despite getting into some strong positions. Pioli was asked if sometimes his forwards go for the assist rather than target a goal?
“If you have a teammate in a better position, you should pass it. I feel we did lack something this evening in the finish and in the final ball. We had chances, we cannot think of having six or seven against a side like Inter, but we did cause them problems and need to be more precise against Napoli.”
Definitely didn’t deserve to win – Milan didn’t score! Simply didn’t have the end product.
I am happy with the result though because it’s a two-legged match and the away goals rule is in effect. Tonali, Messias, Calabria and Diaz got a rest for the most part and brought on(sans Tonali) to apply some late pressure and perhaps get a goal. Meanwhile, Inter didn’t get an away goal.
Kalulu was fantastic as usual.