Milan coach Stefano Pioli insisted that his team have plenty of potential in attacking areas of the pitch, but urged his players to concede fewer chances following their 3-2 defeat to Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
The Rossoneri still qualified for the Europa League Round of 16 despite Thursday’s loss, as they had recorded a 3-0 victory in San Siro in the first leg last week for an overall score of 5-3 on aggregate.
Milan goals this week came courtesy of Luka Jovic and Rafael Leao, who equalised for 1-1 and 2-2 respectively.
Still, Milan fell behind on three separate occasions in Brittany on Thursday night, with Benjamin Bourigeaud scoring all three of Rennes’ goals, two of which came from the penalty spot.
“We will all have our opinions coming back, but we have qualified. Getting through to the next round seemed easy in the first leg, it wasn’t an easy affair, but we still have a lot of situations to evaluate,” Pioli said in his post-match interview.
“I think tonight’s match confirmed that we have a lot of potential going forwards. But, we have to concede fewer chances against our opponents.”
Rafael Leao came under particular security from supporters during the Rennes clash, as he fumbled a series of first-half chances.
The coach suggested that he and former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic both could have performed better on the European stage.
“We suffered with Pulisic and Leao. We have to be a team and I don’t go about it thinking that we only have 11 players.”
Despite sitting relatively comfortably in third place in Serie A, Milan have now lost two in a row thanks to their 4-2 loss against Monza in the league over the weekend.
“The Monza match did not go well, but we have to think about the future and focus on our next game,” Pioli concluded.
#EuropaLeague | #Milan, #Pioli: "Non penso di avere solo 11 giocatori. Abbiamo sofferto anche con #Pulisic e #Leao in campo" https://t.co/nRoDzQ5YHu
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) February 22, 2024