Stefano Pioli, the coach of AC Milan, spoke at a press conference after the match lost 5-1 against Inter.
Was Inter too strong?
"Inter is strong, we're not surprised. But the result is too heavy for our performance, we shouldn't have given up. Until 3-1, we gave our all in the performance, despite Inter being smarter. We mustn't let ourselves be demoralized, we have to play until the end. This result will help us."
Do you feel the need to apologize to the fans?
"I don't agree with apologizing to the fans. Did you think we wanted to concede 5 goals to Inter and lose the derby? We're disappointed. You should apologize when you don't do something intentionally."
But if you look back at the other derbies...
"You can look back and see whatever you want. We've lost 5 derbies and we'll try to do better."
What went wrong in countering Inter? Pioli said:
"Their midfielders' runs had to be intercepted by our central players. Almost all their goals came from counterattacks, so we need better defensive positions when we don't have possession. It's true that when you need to come back, it becomes difficult not to push a few more players forward..."
But what happened?
"It's true that we went down after 5 minutes, but the reaction was good and we managed to get back on our feet. Then, at 3-1, it became heavier."
How do you justify the defeat?
"It's part of the history, it's a heavy and negative fact that we wanted to change today, but we couldn't because they were smarter than us."
What did the management say in the locker room?
"The management was there to support us, we can't go home with our heads held too high."
