Igor Tudor blames a lack of match fitness and the Milan passion for Hellas Verona’s second half collapse. ‘A draw probably would’ve been fair, but we can only tip our hats to them.’
Hellas really felt they had the game in hand when going 2-0 up at San Siro after 24 minutes with Gianluca Caprari’s strike and an Antonin Barak penalty.
They were still unbeaten under Tudor, with two wins and as many draws, but the Rossoneri completed an extraordinary comeback to win 3-2.
There were some doubts over penalties in favour of both teams, as there was very little contact both on Nikola Kalinic and Samu Castillejo.
It was ultimately decided by a bizarre Koray Hunter own goal.
“This is the third time we’ve been 2-0 up and not won, so we don’t want that scoreline anymore!” Tudor joked on DAZN after a pair of goal-packed stalemates and this defeat.
“Milan stepped up a gear after the break, I think a draw probably would’ve been fair, but we can only tip our hats to them. They put on quality players and pushed hard.
“We will take the first half and keep working, above all physically, because in order to play the kind of football we want, we need to be in really good shape. When everyone is up to par physically, then we can bring points like this home.”
Verona were so aggressive in the first half, but started to defend deeper and deeper, unable to restart that momentum after the turnaround.
“We struggled to keep hold of the ball and the energy in the stadium was pushing Milan forward too. We had the chances to get at least a point.”
Giovanni Simeone was expected to start this evening, but Tudor picked Nikola Kalinic instead.
“I chose Kalinic because he is an ex-Milan player, so I felt he could make an impact. Both did well, it’s a long season and there will be room for both.”
Verona, Tudor a DAZN: “Il Milan nel secondo tempo ha spinto, bisogna fargli i complimenti” https://t.co/6u0fRQtmBn
— MilanNews.it (@MilanNewsit) October 16, 2021