Stefano Pioli criticised Milan after a poor performance resulted in a goalless draw with Sassuolo, but the head coach expects better in Saturday s derby against Inter.
The Rossoneri have two wins and two draws in the first four games of their Serie A title defence, though the display on Tuesday away at Sassuolo left much to be desired.
Pioli s side were far from their best, perhaps fortunate to share the spoils after Mike Maignan was required to save a Domenico Berardi penalty in the first half.
Having missed a chance to collect three points, Milan opened the door for Inter, Roma and Napoli to leapfrog them in the early stages of the 2022-23 Scudetto race.
Fierce rivals Inter are next up for Pioli and the Milan coach acknowledged there must be an improvement on this latest showing.
It was not a Milan of quality, technique or decision-making, Pioli said. We played football that was too frenetic, we weren t able to read the game and this made it complicated.
It made it dirty, ruffled and with little rhythm. We struggled to find spaces. We started well, I liked the beginning very much, then we lost calmness and we were in too much of a hurry in the search for the opponent s goal.
I have already seen the players, they have spoken more. We lacked quality and calmness, they are aware and it is important. I think that the next matches will be different.
It finishes goalless in Reggio Emilia.
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Asked whether preparations were different due to the looming clash with Inter, Pioli added: We recovered after [Saturday s 2-0 win over] Bologna and tried to prepare for the game well from a tactical point of view.
Saying something to the team for the derby will be easy. It is a derby, the rivalry is high and we know how much the result can weigh and we will prepare for it in the best possible way.
Fast-paced play and a never-say-die attitude characterised Milan s route to Scudetto glory last season – a facet that was largely missing against Sassuolo.
Milan s championship-winning season has changed the way Pioli s side are judged, and the coach urged his players to rise to that challenge.
Pioli said: Our expectations have increased and we have to hold them up, but that s right, it s a privilege.
