Pioli: Milan are physically and mentally tired and show aggression and strength but slightly less quality

Live bar December 20 news According to the football italia network reported that in the 18th round of Serie A, a focus battle, AC Milan lost 0-1 at home to Napoli, and while being equalized in points, it also handed over the second place to the latter. After the game, Milan boss Pioli still defended his team's performance, insisting it was "one of the best games in terms of attack, intensity and focus" and saying he couldn't understand why Casey's goal was invalidated.

Elmas' goal, which allowed AC Milan to suffer their third defeat in the last six league games, was already four points behind the top of the table, but Pioli was angry when he heard pundits comment that Milan looked "tired". In an interview with DAZN, he said: "I think we proved ourselves not tired with our performance tonight. We can certainly play better, but in terms of offense, physical fitness and willpower, I think it's one of the best performances we've played this season. We've snapped the ball back again and again and I love the intensity and desire to win that the team has shown. We did make some wrong passes and easily lost the ball, but I didn't see any physical problems. ”

"Listen, in my opinion, it's easy to say that we're using a lot of energy in the game, getting too many injuries, so we're tired', but I definitely don't agree with those words. I think this is the best game we can play in terms of aggressiveness, intensity and focus. We defended almost from napoli at half-time and the players played hard and definitely shouldn't have lost the game. ”

"Unfortunately, we conceded the ball early on. We should have done better in some positions, but in the following time we performed very well. Like all the teams in Europe, we consume a lot of energy, but I don't see a team that is physically or mentally exhausted. When facing a very strong opponent, we were barely in danger. ”

'In the third offensive zone, sometimes you need players to give some great moments of individual performance, but tonight we didn't have that chance in the game except for a couple of times when Messias went one-on-one with the opposing defender.

Casey's "absolute tie" in the 89th minute was blown away, inevitably sparking controversy. VAR decided that Olivier Giroud, who had previously crossed the header, was in an offside position – although he fell to the ground at the same time as the Napoli defender, the Frenchman was considered to have been involved in the attack, so the goal was invalid. In response, Pioli said: "I know they will say that the rules are universal, but how can a player lying on the ground cause harm to the opponent? He couldn't have stopped Juan Jesus either, and although Giroud's legs were wide, he did everything he could to avoid them. ”

Milan began to pose a threat to Napoli's defence, just after Olivier Giroud came on as a substitute, as Ibrahimovic was no longer alone in the front. Speaking about the Frenchman's role, Pioli said: "Giroud is not ready to play 90 minutes. He had been absent for three weeks before, with only a few training sessions. When I thought it was the right time, I switched to him. ”

"I think we played well before we replaced him. You can't beat your head with a long pass, or your opponent will be too easy to predict your intentions. We did pass the ball, from both wings, and the changes gave us energy and different running positions. The team did almost everything well, just lacking a little quality in the offensive third division. ”

(Felix Cat)