AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli provided a rather honest assessment of the season that his side have had, praising them for the achievement of getting a top four finish.
Milan secured a place in next season’s edition of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday night as Olivier Giroud got the only goal in what was far from a classic between the two sides.
A third straight season in Europe’s top club competition awaits for Milan, who have done the double over Juventus for only the third time in 50 years in the process, however there are still some mixed feelings about how the campaign has gone.
Pioli spoke to Milan TV after the game to reflect on the fact a Champions League place has been secured after a rollercoaster season domestically and in Europe.
“It was a big chance. It was a big chance that we needed to take to show how good we are. We turn up for games like this,” he began.
“It’s now time to take stock. We had a brilliant champions League run. We were obviously disappointed not to have gone through in the semis, but finishing in the top four in Europe… Nobody would have given us a chance at the start of the season.
“In the league we’ve done just about enough, but playing in two competitions meant that we dipped at times. It’s been a tough season too with the World Cup break and some of our big players going to that tournament.
“We struggled to regain fitness after that, and Mike [Maignan] was out for a while. It wasn’t easy this season. We’ll learn a lot from it to improve even more.
“Juve have been good in the league. They didn’t go as far as us in the Champions League but have done well in the league. I told the team that the first time Milan won here at this stadium was two or three years ago.
“So there was a chance for a repeat and to get the job done before the final match day. I think my players will have enjoyed beating a very strong side in Juventus and securing Champions League for next season.
“Let’s be clear, playing in the semis and not reaching the final – especially given who it was that beat us – was really disappointing. It was something we really wanted.
“Now that time has passed and we’ve calmed down, we can be honest in the fact that we did everything we needed to in the Champions League.
“We need to understand that to remain competitive in both competitions you need to be a really good team. Very few teams can do it. For us to be competition in the Champions League, we dropped off a bit in the league.
“This is the reality, but again, it’s been a strange season. Of course, if we’d won a couple of those games in January and February, we’d have stayed higher up in the table.
“But in any case, it was Napoli who did something amazing and, as always, our main aim – like when we finished second or won the Scudetto by not many points – is to finish in the top four.
“The team has reached a high level of competitiveness. We want to compete in the Champions League and in Serie A. We need another big push for that and to try to do things better.
“Zlatan was our top scorer last season until January. He’s not just a player who can get you 9 goals, I think it was, he really is the guy. Not having him with us this season has been tough but a lot of things have reduced our ability to stay competitive in the league.
“It was a good win tonight, and nice for Milan to qualify for the Champions League for a third straight season. This is really important. This team is making progress year by year both individually and as a group.
“There are a few things we need to work on but that’s normal if we want to keep improving. It was a weakness of ours last year too: picking up points against teams who might be weaker than us on paper.
“We need to look at how we can work on this both for me in terms of tactics and selection and for the players in terms of mentality because especially in those games, you need individual brilliance, you need individuals to make a play, you need a good set piece, which we’ve lacked.
“There’s always a reason for numbers like this, and so we need to make a change.”
People can bash Pioli all they want, but it is exactly how he puts it. We don’t have the squad depth to RELIABLY secure success on two fronts. If everyone was fit and all signings worked, we’d do better.
– Mike is an absolute key player and we didn’t have a capable substitute -> some points lost
– Zlatan is a reliable goalscorer, and we didn’t have anyone else to rotate with Giroud -> some points lost
– CDK struggled, and we didn’t have anyone other than Diaz for the No10 role
Surely we lost some points due to Stefano’s decisions, but all coaches make mistakes just like players do.
We were able to pull ourselves together for the occasional big games in UCL and did exceptionally well, making a lot of money in the process. In the league, though, lost points added up over time and we almost paid the price.
Last season we had a bit of luck and that helped us win the title. This year we needed luck to rank top 4. We must buy and sell in a smart way to return to the state where a top 4 finish doesn’t require much luck.
Still a great season.