Stefano Pioli talked to the media during the post-match press conference and said the following words as his team failed to get 3 points against Udinese at the San Siro:
"The moment of Udogie's goal was decisive for us. It if were not for that, we would have probably won. The handball is clear. We take our responsibility: we did not perform our best performance, there was a lack of rhythm, there was a lack of intensity. We know how to play better and we will work to do so, but the episodes penalized us too much. We did not have rhythm ... You cannot play only 45 minutes of actual play."
Milan lost 12 points with the bottom half clubs since the end of November until today...
"It's no coincidence. These games are difficult if you can't unlock them. Tonight we didn't try to close the game with conviction, but we tried to manage it. Then it happens: a blunder or an arbitration error..."
Pioli responded to the media when asked if players are feeling tired already...
"I don't think there is an athletic problem here. The team is fine from a physical point of view, we have to give more rhythm by moving the ball faster and be fast without the ball."
Did you expect more from your players?
"Of course I expect more, even they will not be satisfied with the performance. We will work on everything: on the tactical aspects, on the positions with and without the ball and on the players mental aspect."
On Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
"He was a little bit better, but as long as he doesn't train with the team I can't be too confident or positive. We'll see in the next few days."
Milan seemed to lack desire...
"Desire is not the right term. I continue to talk about lucidity. We dueled and won many tackles, but we have to command more games by playing more in the opposing half; in the second half we didn't do that."
About VAR:
"I have my own idea on this: I would go back to having pairs of referees. All the referees know the rules very well, but all the referees interpret differently. I would do fixed pairs: Marchetti in the field and Guida at VAR today. Then, Guida on the pitch and Marchetti on the VAR", said Pioli, "I'm not against VAR, but today we had to intervene. I think we can do this to improve it."
