Stefano Pioli has accepted the blame for a disastrous night at Stadio Briante as Monza thrashed Milan 4-2 in an enthralling contest. The Italian manager might have underestimated Raffaele Palladino’s side, which backfired big time.
Pioli decided to give his free-firing frontline some rest after a 3-0 thumping of Rennes in midweek Europa League action. However, Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze, and especially Luka Jovic failed to live up to the task. The latter’s expulsion at the start of the second half put Milan in a near-impossible situation as they were already 2-0 down.
Speaking to the press in the aftermath, Pioli took full responsibility for a humiliating loss to mid-table opposition and conceded Milan made too many mistakes.
“I take all the responsibilities in the world: I’m the one who chooses the players, the strategy, who makes the changes. We made mistakes that we don’t usually make,” the under-pressure Milan boss said, as quoted by TMW. “It’s been a while since we’ve conceded so many goals like that.“
In addition to relinquishing a perfect three-game run against Monza in Serie A, Milan squandered a golden opportunity to leapfrog Juventus into second. Not only are Rossoneri now effectively out of the Scudetto race, but their lead on fifth-placed Bologna decreased to only seven points.
Pioli will have several days to rally his troops before taking on Rennes in the return leg of their one-sided Europa League knockout round tie. That will be a dress rehearsal for a Serie A top-four six-pointer against Atalanta next week.
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