Stefano Pioli expressed his disappointment following his side’s exit from the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the hands of derby rivals Inter. A lone 74th minute strike by Lautaro Martinez was enough in the return leg, as the Rossoneri failed to make an early impact in a bid to upset the Nerazzurri’s 2-0 lead from the first leg last week.
“It’s a big disappointment,” Pioli said in an interview with Sportmediaset (via MilanNews). “We had a great run in the Champions League, but we wanted to reach the final. We made a mistake in the first 15 minutes of the first leg, and we never recovered from that. We had our chances in the second leg, but we just couldn’t take them.”
Pioli defended his decision to make late changes in the second leg, saying that he was trying to change the game, until Martinez banged a powerful drive past Mike Maignan with 16 minutes to go.
“We were doing well with positions, but we lacked quality and precision. I was about to make the changes when we conceded the goal. The match was almost over then.”
Despite being dumped out in the only competition they were alive in this season, Stefano Pioli still has a top-four finish to aim for, as only three matches remain in the Serie A season.
They play Sampdoria next, before traveling to Juventus – in what is expected to be their most crucial clash in deciding the Champions League spots. Verona await the Rossoneri in the final game of the season.
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