Champions League
AC Milan after Champions League exit: frustration & “experiences”
AC Milan’s Junior Messiah (l) in a duel with Inter Milan’s Robin Gosens. photo
© Oliver Weiken/dpa
Milan is disappointed after the end of the premier football league against city rivals Inter. But the young players should save these games as experience, says a club icon.
AC Milan’s clear defeat of city rivals Inter in the semi-finals of the Champions League showed how far the team is from the European top flight. “The difference was obvious,” said Paolo Maldini, the northern Italians’ technical director, after the 1-0 defeat in the second leg.
The AC had already lost the first leg 0:2. Milan is currently not on an equal footing with Inter, the long-time world-class soccer player summed up.
“At the moment we are just disappointed”
After the disappointing performance of the previous week, the Rossoneri actually wanted to show a reaction in the second leg and create a turnaround. The performance was better – but again there was nothing to be gained against an Inter in top form. Except for two missed chances to score, the squad hardly developed any danger. Instead, Inter captain and world champion Lautaro Martinez scored the goal of the evening (74th minute).
“We’re just disappointed at the moment,” said coach Stefano Pioli after the game at the San Siro stadium. “If you’re already in the semi-finals, then of course you want to go to the final.”
Manager Maldini – who had won the premier class five times as a player – cited mitigating circumstances. Milan is still in the middle of a project to introduce young players to the top class. Hardly any of the professionals have ever played such an important game.
“These are all experiences”
Players such as striker Rafael Leão, German defender Malick Thiaw and midfielder Sandro Tonali are each only in their early 20s. “These are all experiences,” Maldini admitted in a TV interview. “It was a big deal just to get to the semi-finals.”
After AC surprisingly became champions last year, no one would have believed that they would advance to the semi-finals of the European premier class this season. In the league, however, Milan failed several times recently. “We are not equipped to go through two competitions,” he said.
Now everything has to be tried to at least get into the top four in Serie A in order to be able to play in the Champions League again next year. Milan are currently fifth in the league. “We have to overcome the disappointment,” demanded coach Pioli with regard to the final sprint in the championship.