Milan boss Stefano Pioli took the responsibility for his sides 1-0 home loss to Udinese: ‘The boos and whistles from the fans are right, especially towards me.’ The Rossoneri slumped to their third loss in four games, a tough result, especially as it was Udinese’s first victory of the 2023/23 season. Speaking with DAZN after the match, the coach shouldered the blame for a lacklustre performance, pointing to ‘confusion’ in his team’s display:
On the performance…
“We didn’t play the match that we could and wanted to play. We struggled and lost clarity as well as quality. There was too much confusion this evening. We should be worried about the results and the match tonight. Clearly, it didn’t go as it should have. We knew it could be rough and we also had some situations: but that can’t be an excuse. It wasn’t an up-to-par performance. We need to change the course immediately.”
PSG up next…
“Better or worse, we have to face them and we only have one result in mind. We will have to play a great match in all aspects because we will face a strong opponent. After a disappointment like this, it is better to face a match of this magnitude.”
On Jovic…
“He’s a striker who’s good at holding the ball and distributing for others. In the first half, we needed to open them up a little more. It’s also the first game he’s played from start and I don’t think we lost and played poorly because of Jovic. Today we all played poorly. The longer the match went on the more we lost confidence and quality”
With frequent tactical changes, is a centre-forward missing?
“I’m sure I have important characteristics at my disposal in the attacking department. Today I made a different choice than usual due to the absences of Pulisic and Chukwueze. I’m sure that we have an attacking department that can allow us to be more dangerous than we were tonight. We have to do much better. The boos and whistles from the fans are right, especially towards me.”
On Ibrahimovic and environmental problems…
“I believe that many conversations that are made, and rightly so, are almost all aimed at results. Until ten days ago, no one was talking about the absence of the club or that Pioli was alone. I focus on the pitch and we can definitely do better there. I’m focusing on the level of play that needs to improve and which can’t be the same as tonight. As for the rest, you know how Zlatan thinks, how the club is working with me. I have everything to work well and if the results don’t come it means that I have to work better and that the responsibilities are mine. I take responsibility.”
