A dejected looking Stefano Pioli faced the media after AC Milan suffered another heavy defeat, this time against Sassuolo and this time conceding five.
There were four goals in a frantic first half as Sassuolo scored three times in 11 minutes through Gregoire Defrel, Davide Frattesi and Domenico Berardi to go in 3-1 up at the break. Armand Lauriente thumped home a penalty just after the interval to make it 4-1, and Matheus Henrique added a five before Divock Origi’s consolation.
This is a very difficult period for Milan who are now six games without a win, and the fact around 10,000 fans were left at the full-time whistle says an awful lot about the way things have been in 2023.
Pioli was present in the press conference room at San Siro after the game to face the questions of journalist who had just seen his team taken apart, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Why wasn’t a back-up goalkeeper signed?
“We made this choice because we have faith in who is available and because Maignan is recovering from his injury.”
What will change?
“Things that weren’t working well a few weeks ago haven’t worked, so it’s clear there will be some tweaking.”
What did you think of De Ketelaere?
“We got off to a fairly good start, we had illusions with Giroud’s goal. Then we find it difficult to react and are fragile in the defensive phase.”
What could change?
“It would be foolish of me to continue on this path that isn’t bringing us results, so I’ll do something both tactically and mentally. The players aren’t listless and inattentive, but they’re having a difficult time. It’s a very heavy defeat, approaching that of Bergamo [5-0]: there we compacted and we restarted. We certainly won’t win the league again, but going back to the Champions League is fundamental.”
What do you promise fans in view of the derby?
“I promise we’ll do all week to win the derby.”
What do you feel after Sassuolo’s five goals?
“Pain.”
