AC Milan head coach, Stefano Pioli, was clearly frustrated with how the game went and how Daniel Siebert officiated it as Chelsea took the lead thanks to a strange penalty and red card calls. Here are his words in a press conference:
"It's very difficult, the game was already difficult on its own. Our opponents are among the strongest in Europe. The approach was right, we could be dangerous. That moment (red card) messed everything up."
He added:
"I didn't give myself an explanation. At the end of the game I asked the referee if the VAR was working or not."
Milan continue to be victims of bad refereeing in Europe, first Atlético Madrid last year, and now Chelsea...
"I think the referee was not in one of his best evenings tonight."
Tomori with a red card, how do you plan to deploy the defence in next Champions League game (vs Dinamo Zagreb):
"There are still two weeks, we will have to get Kjaer back. If not, we will move Kalulu to the centre. Now we throw ourselves back into the league knowing that our fate is still within our hands. We know this and we will prepare very well for the match in Zagreb because it will be very important."
Will the team be able to react? Pioli said:
"Our Champions League is not over tonight. We are sure that we will play for it until the end. There will not even be a need to motivate my players, in Zagreb we want to show that we are a team up to this competition."
Is there anything positive to be taken from tonight's game against Chelsea?
"That the team had an incredible spirit. After the expulsion the whole game changed and they had to sacrifice a lot. There was the spirit and desire to help each other. There will be a test against Hellas Verona away and another test in Zagreb."
Pioli also spoke to Sky Sport Italia about the refereeing and the red card:
"Football is a sport of contact. Tomori only just touched him. That is never a penalty and it is never a red card. It's a real shame, we wanted to play against a strong opponent, it's a shame we didn't succeed."
