Stefano Pioli has lashed out at Milan’s sloppy build-up play following another rookie mistake from Ismael Bennacer in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Udinese. It becomes annoying how many times the Rossoneri have given away cheap goals in Serie A this season.
Recurring blackouts in the opening third have come back to haunt Milan on more than one occasion in the past few weeks. A couple of inexplicable blunders that resulted in a 4-3 defeat at Fiorentina transferred to a 3-1 home reverse to Sassuolo back in late November.
Unfortunately for Pioli, his players have failed to learn from their mistakes. Instead, they look to be going from one error to another, dropping the points along the way. The latest in a growing list of missteps saw Bennacer misplace a straightforward pass, allowing Portuguese forward Beto to give Udinese an early lead at the Dacia Arena.
Since falling behind, Milan encountered all sorts of problems trying to penetrate Udinese’s well-positioned backline. Despite enjoying more of the ball, Pioli’s men barely had any clear-cut opportunity to bring the scoreline back to square one. Yet, having Zlatan Ibrahimovic on your side has its virtues, as evidenced by the Swede’s late equalizer.
Another acrobatic strike from the veteran striker in Udine salvaged a point for Milan in the 92nd minute. But the Rossoneri could slide to third in the standings by Sunday evening should Inter and Napoli win their home matches against Cagliari and Empoli, respectively.
Pioli knows his side can ill-afford to stay on the current trajectory if they are to remain in contention for a long-awaited Serie A title. It’s simply too many mistakes to handle.
“We struggled to play our style of football and didn’t have the sharpness to make the decisions that would pick apart such a well-organized defense,” he said in the post-game interview, as quoted by TUTTOmercatoWEB.
“When you concede, that also makes it even more complicated against a side that counter-attacks so well. We didn’t create many scoring opportunities, but we got to the final third so many times and should’ve equalized earlier.
“We are conceding really silly goals that are because we lose the ball because we make the wrong decisions and play too centrally rather than spread it. I don’t know if it’s a lack of confidence, but it’s certainly a lack of sharpness and we must be far more careful with the ball at our feet.
“My lads are well aware when they aren’t playing at the best of their abilities. We certainly need to do better and I am convinced we will do because there is ambition here, but also the ability to understand our errors and work on them.
“I think we lost a little solidity in defense over the last few games, we are not sharp when playing out from defense and that opens up spaces. It’s a tactical issue we need to work on and I’m sure the lads will be ready for that.“