Stefano Pioli has issued a warning to his Milan side ahead of the upcoming Derby della Madonnina following a blunt 0-0 draw with Juventus. The Rossoneri boss has admitted his team will have to chase all three points against bitter rivals Inter if they are to remain competitive in the Scudetto race.
Though it is fair to admit Milan outperformed Juventus at the San Siro, a lack of final touch let the Rossoneri down one too many times as they failed to test Wojciech Szczesny to a stern test. An underwhelming draw in their own backyard means the seven-time European champions are now four points off the pace in Serie A.
With Inter also having a game in hand, Milan will face the daunting task of bridging the gap on city rivals. The best opportunity to get back in the title race will arrive immediately after the upcoming international break.
The Rossoneri are set to face the Nerazzurri in the famed Milan derby on February 6 in a match that will provide a true insight into their title credentials. Given Inter’s current run of form, Pioli’s team will have to produce something special to tackle Simone Inzaghi’s side down.
Pioli is aware a potential failed attempt to claim the victory could dent his side’s hopes of lifting their first Scudetto in over a decade.
“We had the right performance for our circumstances and the opposition, but were lacking precision in the penalty area. The state of the pitch didn’t help either, as we had some bad first touches, had to take extra touches to get it under control and that slowed us down,” Pioli told DAZN (via MilanNews).
“We tried to be dangerous and limited Juventus to no chances. We moved Messias into a more central position, but we lacked something in the final metres. I don’t think it was a tactical issue, as we had players in the box, but got the final ball wrong.
“We knew the games against Juventus and Inter would say a great deal about our future. If we don’t beat Inter, then our campaign will be very similar to last season, when we won at the end to go second and risked crashing out of the Champions League places.“
He also concedes Milan found it hard to cope with a controversial 2-1 home defeat to Spezia earlier this week.
“Winning games is tough at the moment, you need that quality and fluidity, but also perhaps that light-hearted approach to the sport that we had. Admittedly, it has not been an easy week for us, because it’s one thing to accept what happened, it’s quite another to just get over it.
“Our glass is half-empty because of the Spezia result, not this one. If we’d won that, tonight’s result would’ve been very different.“