AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli admitted his side missed injured top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Milan to secure a 1-1 draw against Udinese.
Franck Kessie composed himself to dispatch a 97th-minute penalty to ensure that Pioli’s side secured the crucial one point. Milan falls behind midway through the second half after Rodrigo Becao’s opener for the visitors.
Earlier on, Pioli entrusted his attacking to 21-year-old winger Rafael Leao, but the Portuguese performance did not impress the coach.
“I always expect a lot from my players. Rafa’s characteristics are more adapted to attacking spaces,” Pioli said.
“He doesn’t have the craftiness yet to anticipate the defender when he comes up against defenses that are as closed as this,” he said
“Today we were missing the right characteristics to take on this type of match. We were missing the two true strikers in our squad. Leao and (winger Ante) Rebic have other characteristics,” unimpressed Pioli added.
AC Milan will have to do without injured Ibrahimovic when they visit English side Manchester United for Europa League Tie at Old Trafford. Milan has picked up four points from their last four leagues. The Europa Tie does not concern the coach as the Domestic.
Goalscorer Kessie also shared his frustration calls, on the teammates to raise their game.
“It’s two points dropped, but there are a lot of games to go,” he said.
“We need to raise our game because we didn’t do well. We should have managed possession better because they were camped behind the ball,” he added.
“A game like this can happen, but we need to lift our heads back up now because we’re playing every three days,” he concluded.
Inter has a chance to open up a six-point lead at the helm of Serie A table when they visit Parma tonight. Milan is second with 53 points trailing Inter 56, who are yet to play.