AC Milan had to win against Red Star and they did, but that was the only positive thing from last night because the performance was worrying again.
As Corriere della Sera (via MilanNews) write this morning, it was such a disappointing display that it sparked a new post-match outburst from Paulo Fonseca. After his harsh words a few days ago against the officials after the Atalanta game, he turned on his players this time.
With the win the Rossoneri are now up to 12 points in the table, only one below Inter and one more than Atalanta and Juventus. By also winning the last two matches against Girona and Dinamo Zagreb, they have an excellent chance of finishing among the top eight.
Qualifying directly for the round of 16 without going through the play-offs would be a big success, no matter how it comes, but to go any further than that there simply has to be improvements in the performance levels.
Yesterday’s match was decided by a goal from Tammy Abraham in the 87th minute after Rafael Leao’s opener in the first half had been cancelled out by an equaliser from former Torino player Radonjic in the second half.
The only good thing is the three points, which came after a lot of effort against a team with one of the worst defensive records in the competition. After the final whistle, Fonseca was quite harsh with his players, letting them know the standards must be higher.
“Happy with the result, not with the performance, we are always on a roller coaster, I have to talk to the players. I work every day for the good of the team, but within the group I don’t know if everyone can say the same thing,” he said.
“I will never stop. I have a clear conscience. If there is a need to play the Primavera or Milan Futuro boys, I will do it. Without problems.” What will happen now? Will the team have the right reaction, or has it lit a fuse in the wrong way?
