Milan’s coach, Stefano Pioli, divulges insights into his exchange with Maurizio Sarri on the touchline and staunchly defends Christian Pulisic against accusations of lacking sportsmanship following the tumultuous 1-0 victory over an eight-man Lazio.
The encounter unfolded as an unsightly and contentious affair at the Stadio Olimpico, characterized by scarce scoring opportunities and numerous disputes. Predictably, tensions escalated post-match, culminating in a fracas, as Lazio found themselves reduced to eight men in the latter stages of the game, with Luca Pellegrini, Adam Marusic, and Matteo Guendouzi all receiving red cards. Ultimately, Noah Okafor secured the win for Milan in the 88th minute.
“It was an ugly, tense match. We had a slow tempo in the first half and should’ve moved it around quicker, finding more space,” Pioli told DAZN.
“It was a balanced game with very few chances. We started better after the break and made the most of Lazio’s errors.”
In the match, the referee Marco Di Bello and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system emerged as pivotal figures, notably in response to penalty appeals arising from a collision between Mike Maignan and Taty Castellanos, as well as the disallowance of a Mario Gila own goal due to Rafael Leao being in an offside position.
One of the most contentious incidents revolved around the issuance of a second yellow card to Pellegrini. This occurred while Pellegrini was attempting to shepherd the ball out of play, a maneuver prompted by Castellanos being on the ground, holding his face following an accidental collision with Ismael Bennacer. Pulisic intervened to prevent the ball from going out of play and was subsequently impeded by Pellegrini.
“Sarri told me ‘The ball was going out of play’ – but the referee did not blow the whistle,” explained Pioli.
“Pulisic is a fair player, he did what he did. I don’t see why the onus should’ve been on us to put the ball out of play. If that is what they wanted, then why didn’t they do it?”
The match concluded with the issuance of three red cards, accompanied by ten yellow cards, thereby generating a pervasive atmosphere of disorientation. Consequently, both Rafael Leao and Alessandro Florenzi will face suspensions in the forthcoming fixture against Udinese.
“Keeping a clean sheet was important for us, we had conceded too many recently, despite not really allowing that many opportunities. We have the quality to score goals, both in those who start and off the bench.”
This outcome narrows the gap for Milan to just one point behind second-placed Juventus, currently engaged in a match against Napoli.
“The objective for this season is to consolidate or improve third place in Serie A, while the Europa League is also an objective, though Slavia Prague are a very strong team.”
There have been inquiries regarding Stefano Pioli’s tenure as manager of AC Milan, which have been exacerbated by statements made by club owner Gerry Cardinale.
“I am concentrated on what I am doing to make this a positive season,” replied the coach.
“We still have prestigious games to play. I never commented on the words of the owner, because he has the right and duty to make his own evaluations.
“We never lacked the right attitude, there was never a lack of faith or jealousy within the group. If we lost games, it was not down to a lack of unity.”