After the clash between AC Milan and Stade Rennes, which ended 3-2 in favour of the French side, Stefano Pioli spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the performance. Of course, thanks to the aggregate score, they are through to the next round.
As the game got underway, Milan almost acted like the tie was decided already and perhaps this is what gave Rennes enough fuel to score three goals. The Rossoneri certainly could have made life easier for themselves, squandering a few good chances, but they clearly played on the result.
Speaking to MilanTV after the game, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli shared his thoughts on Milan’s issues on both ends of the pitch. He admitted that the Rossoneri should have been more effective and also briefly touched on the upcoming Atalanta clash.
On the approach of Rennes…
“They had to do something to recover. We expected something different to what we saw in Milano. They left us a lot of space. A difficult match and a more difficult qualification than we thought. Good to have advanced, the defeat less so.”
On the problems in defence and attack…
“We had the opportunity to score a few more goals. We could have been more effective with our counter-attacks, as well as more solid in the defensive phase.”
On the cost of playing European tournaments…
“Playing in the Europa League, we all know what it means. We will recover our energy and give the best possible performance against Atalanta.”
On the possible opponent in the Round of 16…
“They are all strong, we expect difficult matches. If you want to go all the way, whoever arrives will be difficult. But whoever gets us will not be happy either.”
Atalanta are up next and that game is scheduled for 20:45 CET on Sunday. After the defeat against Monza last time out, Milan need to bounce back with a win especially since the Bergamo side are just seven points behind as things stand.
