Roma boss Claudio Ranieri was full of praise for what he saw from AC Milan, and revealed what he said to Sergio Conceicao at full-time.
Milan advanced to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with what was in the end a quite comfortable and convincing win over Roma, and now a tie against the winner of Inter vs. Lazio awaits.
The Rossoneri did the bulk of the work in the first half as Tammy Abraham returned to haunt his parent club, scoring with a towering header and a composed 1v1 finish, both from Theo Hernandez assists.
Artem Dovbyk netted in the second half off the bench to reduce the deficit, but new signings Santiago Gimenez and Joao Felix linked up after coming on to restore the two-goal lead, and it finished 3-1.
Ranieri spoke to Mediaset after Roma’s Coppa Italia journey came to an end and he reflected on what was a difficult night for his side, with MilanNews relaying his comments.
What is the biggest regret of this match?
“First of all, I have to compliment Milan, from midfield onwards they are really good. We tried everything, in the second half we came out: it was the hot moment to score and instead we conceded.
“The regret can be about those 10 centimetres of offside [on Dovbyk], it could have reopened the game. I have nothing to reproach the lads for, they gave everything.”
Were you too slow tonight?
“I agree, but one thing is to say and another is to do. We have to work, even for the boys it is not easy with three coaches in a season. I have to thank them, they always try to give their best.
“We made a few mistakes and other small things, which allowed Milan to play a great game and us not to recover.”
What did you say to Conceicao?
“I told him: ‘Well done, you’ve sorted out the team’. I complimented him, I have no problem giving credit to opponents.”
What did you ask of Shomurodov?
“I asked for what he did against Napoli. He and Dybala had to stay compact with the midfielders. Maybe he had spent a lot against Napoli, even though he played a good game he didn’t do everything I asked of him. We can take counterattacks from this Milan, in the second half we even took more than one.”
