It was a disappointing evening for AC Milan at Stadio Ennio Tardini last night as Parma prevailed by two goals to one. Given the performance of the Rossoneri, criticised by Fabio Capello, the home side certainly deserved to win.
Parma opened the scoring after just two minutes on the clock and from there, they took clear control of the game and dominated Milan during large parts of it. Paulo Fonseca’s side never recovered despite the equaliser and now find themselves in a very dire situation.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, Fabio Cepllo shared his thoughts on the poor performance and even stated that ‘seeing Milan like this had an effect on me’. In his opinion, the Rossoneri are lacking the most important thing of them all: balance.
On the situation…
“Milan’s problems are much deeper than a defeat and can be translated into one word: balance. Fonseca’s team doesn’t have it, they are scattered on the pitch, three here and four there, as the Portuguese coach himself said after the match. You won’t get anywhere like this.”
Is the issue more of a tactical than a psychological one?
“I would say so. Fonseca talked about recovering the ball high up, but to do that you have to move as a team, with synchronicity, organization and rhythm yesterday’s Milan was very far from having. Let’s be clear, it seemed like last year’s team, with its defects, 6-7 players above the line of the ball, but then when you lose it? It’s trouble… In fact, at this moment, if I were an opponent I would be happy to face Milan.”
Even with the arrival of Emerson Royal and Fofana, was there anything different seen?
“Here, this is the thing that surprised me the most negatively. Milan didn’t change even with the substitutions and continued to suffer counter-attacks in wide spaces. In fact, to tell the truth, Parma did more damage precisely in the area occupied by Emerson Royal. Confirming that it’s not a problem of men, but of the whole team.”
Lazio are up next and as the game will be played at Stadio Olimpico, it will be a very difficult game for the Rossoneri. A complete turnaround will be needed compared to yesterday’s game and truth be told, that seems far-fetched at the moment.
