“He Was Naïve On The Goal, I Expected More In Terms Of Experience And Dealing With These Situations”

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It is proving to be another season of inconsistency in performances and results from AC Milan but unlike last season, the gap between them are reduced as they’ve managed to remain in the title race so far despite being unable to string together wins in their last few games.

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With a new manager in charge, they started the season with a loss and then started a run of wins that propelled them to the top of the table but now, the cracks are started to show as they defeated Roma in their previous match before drawing against Parma away from home yesterday.

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Perhaps, this is why Massimiliano Allegri admitted that they threw away two points’ in their 2-2 draw with Parma as It really was a game of two halves at the Stadio Tardini. The Rossoneri looked comfortable when surging into an early 2-0 lead through Alexis Saelemaekers and a Rafael Leao penalty.

Then Adrian Bernabé gave the home side hope with a sensational curler just before half-time, and that set up a comeback to equalise with Enrico Delprato’s glancing header and then later on, both teams had the opportunities to win it in a chaotic match but they ended up sharing the points.

It will feel like another wasted chance for the Diavolo, who have now dropped points against Cremonese, Pisa and Parma. “We threw away two points, I don’t know how it might’ve ended if we had gone into the break at 2-0, but we should’ve done better,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“Even apart from the goal, we came out for the second half so clumsy, we allowed two or three big chances before the equaliser from throw-ins and corners, we were basically half-asleep. Once we started playing again, there were three scoring opportunities that we didn’t take.”

“It’s a psychological thing, the game seemed to be on the right track, but the fear set in when they scored. Parma made the most of that mental advantage and regained confidence, so we should’ve kept playing our game at that moment. Instead, we were losing all the battles inside the penalty area.”

Pervis Estupinan had his first game since September 28 and made some costly errors, so did Allegri expect more from the former Brighton and Hove Albion player? “No, he was coming back after a long injury, plus I think he managed to avoid conceding one goal with an important block.”

“It is not one player responsible, we all should’ve stepped up and been ready for battle.” He replied. Christian Pulisic also made his comeback as a late substitute, forming a partnership with Rafael Leao, but missed a big chance to win it later on in the game.

“Pulisic and Leao had done well in pre-season as a pairing too. We should have Adrien Rabiot back after the break for international duty. We can play in a few different ways, but the fact remains we did create many scoring opportunities today. We need more patience and not the urge to shoot after every three passes.”

At first, the manager tried to defend Estupinan after his costly error, but eventually confessed he expected more from the summer acquisition as a moment of magic from Adrian Bernabé curled into the far top corner in stoppages changed the game while Milan were in the lead.

The goal inspired the Parma comeback that was completed by an Enrico Delprato glancing header and that Bernabé goal was set up by Sascha Britschgi, who robbed Estupinan at the touchline to provide the assist and transform the match as the home side gained confidence.

Allegri was pressed on the mistake by Sky Sport Italia and DAZN Italia, but once he got to the press conference and was asked again, he finally acknowledged his disappointment. “Estupinan was coming back from injury and seemed to be fully fit.” He replied.

“I did expect more from him in terms of experience and dealing with those situations. He was naïve on the goal, but then he did manage to make a decisive block to prevent another goal when it was 2-1.” He said and overall, the 27-year-old has struggled to live up to his price-tag.

He was purchased from Brighton for €17m plus a further €2m in add-ons and the ex-Villarreal, Watford, Osasuna and Mallorca player is 27 years old and has 50 senior caps for Ecuador and has made seven appearances in the Milan jersey between Serie A and the Coppa Italia, contributing one assist.

“We were a bit dumb today, as we dropped some precious points and the fact remains we left six points behind against Cremonese, Pisa and Parma this season.” He continued. The last time Milan fumbled a two-goal lead in Serie A was their 3-3 draw with Salernitana in May 2024.

“We were not solid enough when leading 2-1, we just started giving it away far too cheaply. You can have a moment of being under pressure, but if you can’t play good football in those moments, you should at least battle for every ball.” He further added in his assessment of the game.

Read Also: “The Game Will Not Be Easy, It Will Be Hard-Fought And Everyone Wants To Bring Home The Result”

While Milan went into this weekend hoping they could take advantage of the fixture list to climb into top spot, instead they risk being left behind by the others crowded up there as Napoli will travel away to face Bologna for their own game while Inter Milan will be at home against Lazio.

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