Milan collapses in Monza. Pioli: “Turnover? Pulisic tired. Leao calf problems”

Monza-Milan 4-2, goodbye overtaking Juventus and hope of chasing the Scudetto for Inter!

Monza beat Milan 4 to 2. It was he who opened the scoring Pessina on penalty in the 45th minute. The doubling comes with Dany Mota in the 51st minute. In the 64th minute Olivier Giroud shortens the distance for Milan. The goal of a temporary equalizer came in the 88th minute with Pulisic. But in the last minutes the goal for Monza arrives Bondo at the 90th is that of Colombo in the 95th minute.

With this defeat, Milan remains in third place with 52 points, they don't overtake Juventus, they end any hope of a Scudetto comeback against Inter and in terms of the Champions League they see Bologna (fifth) getting close to minus 7. Monza is eleventh in Serie A with 33 points.

Milan collapses in Monza. Pioli: “Turnover? Pulisic tired. Leao calf problems. Defeat that hurts”

“We made some mistakes that compromised the match. We showed that we have the qualities to take it back, after the 2-2 we had to be more clear-headed – the words of the Milan coach -. It was an evening where we made too many mistakes”, the words of Stefano Pioli after the defeat on the Monza pitch. On the turnover the Rossoneri coach explains: “Yesterday Pulisic didn't train because he was still tired And Leao had to play, but stopped finishing and he didn't feel like it for a calf pain. It's a defeat that really hurts because of how it came. Really bad evening.”

“In the first half the team should have been faster, Monza waited for us and got behind us: it takes two to give rhythm – underlines Milan coach Stefano Pioli to Dazn -. But the ball certainly could have traveled faster but we had found some good situations without being able to make an impact. The match changed a lot for the worse for us from the interruption to the expulsion… All those episodes in which a team like ours had to be more attentive and clear-headed.”

On the 3-2 goal scored by Bondo which sunk Milan. “We were missing a midfielder in that situation, but once you're equal you don't have to double the lead and you have to leave the one-on-one here. By doubling the lead you leave the man who scored Sunday's goal free outside the area…”.

On the errors of Thiaw and Jovic (sent off). “These are serious mistakes, we all should have done better. A defeat that hurts us, which must make us work better.”

A Milan that concedes too many away goals. “We have shown that when we work well as a team we can also defend well. Their goal even came from a clearance by the opposing goalkeeper, these are errors that we need to try to work on. The too many goals conceded away from home is something that needs to be improved.”

Any hope of Inter chasing the Scudetto ends definitively in Monza, is Milan only left with the Europa League dream? “Both competitions must be our motivation. We stopped in the championship and it shouldn't have happened. Third place isn't that solid yet, second place isn't that far away. We have to make up for this bad performance.”

Monza sinks Milan. Palladino: “Dedicated to Silvio Berlusconi”

“A match in which everything was exciting: nice to see the boys who believed in it before the match, how they trained during the week. We knew we were facing a very strong team that was arriving in Monza with determination to try for second place, the team played an amazing match in many respects: the technical and physical ones, they put intelligence and patience into it and were good in the not possession”, the words of Raffaele Palladino to Dazn after his Monza's 4-2 victory over Milan. The dedication of the Monza coach: “To our great president Silvio Berlusconi, he would have been happy to see how the boys fought against 'his' Milan. We are happy but we must keep our feet on the ground and continue on our growth path.”