After Milan’s wild 1-0 victory over eight-man Lazio, coach Stefano Pioli explains what Maurizio Sarri told him on the touchline and defends Christian Pulisic from accusations of unfair play.
It was a dirty, chaotic, and contentious contest at the Stadio Olimpico, with limited scoring opportunities and numerous arguments.
It inevitably developed into a melee after the final whistle, as Lazio had three players sent off in the second half – Luca Pellegrini, Adam Marusic, and Matteo Guendouzi – and Noah Okafor won it in the 88th minute.
“It was a rough and tense match. We had a poor pace in the first half and should’ve moved it around faster to get more space,” Pioli told DAZN.
“It was a balanced game with little opportunities. We started well after the interval and took advantage of Lazio’s blunders.”
Referee Marco Di Bello and VAR were the primary protagonists, as there were penalty claims for a Mike Maignan collision with Taty Castellanos, and a Mario Gila own goal was disallowed due to Rafael Leao’s offside position.
Among the more disputed incidents was Pellegrini’s second yellow card, which occurred while he was attempting to shepherd the ball out of play with Castellanos down and holding his face after colliding with Ismael Bennacer by accident.
Pulisic pounced to stop it from leaving and was dragged back by Pellegrini.
“Sarri told me ‘The ball was going out of play’ – but the referee did not blow the whistle,” Pioli said.
“Pulisic is a fair player, and he did what he did. I don’t see why it should have been our responsibility to take the ball out of play. “If that is what they wanted, why didn’t they do it?”
It finished with three red cards, ten yellow cards, and a general air of uncertainty, implying that Rafael Leao and Alessandro Florenzi will be suspended against Udinese.
“Keeping a clean sheet was critical for us; we had conceded too many recently, although not allowing that many opportunities. We have players that can score goals, both starting and coming off the bench.”
This result pulls Milan within a point of second-placed Juventus, who face Napoli.
“The objective for this season is to consolidate or improve third place in Serie A, while the Europa League is also an objective, though Slavia Prague are a very strong team.”
Pioli’s future on the Milan bench has been called into question, and statements from patron Gerry Cardinale have fueled those concerns.
“I am focused on what I am doing to make this a successful season,” the coach responded.
“We still have some prestigious games to play. I never remarked on the owner’s statements because he has the right and responsibility to make his own evaluations.
“There was never a lack of faith or jealousy inside the group, and we always had the correct mentality. If we lost games, it was not due to a lack of teamwork.”
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