Arrigo Sacchi has once again expressed his concerns about the way that AC Milan are going, believing that their planning for the future may be compromised.
Milan suffered a third league defeat in a row at the hands of Lazio last night, which leaves them ninth in the Serie A table and now there is a real risk of missing out on European football altogether.
Lazio took the lead in the first half when Mattia Zaccagni was on hand to fire home a rebound from Adam Murisic’s shot. It looked to be game over Strahinja Pavlovic got a straight red card midway through the second half for a foul on Gustav Isaksen.
However, the Rossoneri levelled inside the final 10 minutes through Samuel Chukwueze’s header, and yet deep in added time Mike Maignan was adjudged to have brought Isaksen inside the box after a VAR review, with the penalty converted by Pedro in the 98th minute.
Sacchi published a column for La Gazzetta dello Sport reflecting on the game at San Siro last night and once again not holding back with his criticism of Milan.
“Another slip-up by Milan, and now the pursuit of the Champions League places becomes almost impossible. Incredible ending, because Lazio won with a penalty kick in injury time, but the substance is always the same: the Rossoneri are not a team, there is no point in beating around the bush.
Lazio, who have often impressed me this season, had not been at their usual level, but this success means that they are temporarily sitting in fourth place in the table, waiting to see what Juve will do this evening against Verona.
“The Rossoneri fans booed a lot, demonstrating all their dissatisfaction with a season that has been insufficient so far. What surprised me, watching Milan, is that there was too much confusion, an exaggerated frenzy that led to a decidedly unclean development of the maneuver.
“Sometimes the Rossoneri accelerated, sometimes they slowed down, but without all of this falling within a precise tactical plan. Lazio, on the other hand, plays a very vertical football and always tries to dominate the opponent.
“On one side, the Milan side, there was therefore a lot of approximation, while on the other I saw a group that has excellent knowledge and knows how to position itself on the pitch.
“Leao did two good things, he deserves credit for that, but can two things be enough in one match? As far as I see football, it’s not enough.
And in any case, particularly on a defensive level, I did not notice the order that is necessary to be able to face the advances of the opponents. Now, considering the current conditions of Milan, it seems difficult to me that they can get back into the race for a place in the Champions League zone.
“The problem is that, by playing like this, the club loses its charm, dissatisfies the fans, creates controversy that is not good for building the future. I remain convinced of the fact that everything depends on the decisions made in the summer, during the transfer window.
“Decisions that I have always considered wrong, because a coach (Fonseca) was hired who did not have the full trust of the management and because players were bought who were not functional to his game plan.
“In such conditions, it is difficult to do well. And Conceiçao inherited a team that he had not built and to which, so far, he has not managed to give his own style.”
