After the 0-2 loss against Napoli at the San Siro, AC Milan's head coach Paulo Fonseca has spoken to the media in a press conference and said the following:
"I think those who played did well. I’m not making excuses; I believe in all the players. And today, they proved it. We can say important players are missing, but I don't know if we would have done better with them, because those who played did well."."
A first assessment?
"I expected a few more points. I didn’t anticipate such difficulty in changing the way we play, although this change is starting to show. They scored two goals with two chances. We did a lot of positive things. We lacked in converting the chances we created. What I focus on is the team's growth. We need to improve in defense. But I’ve never seen any team put forth the offensive quality that we showed today."
How do you motivate Rafael Leao? Fonseca said:
"I don't want to go into details. I manage things with the players in a different way. There’s no conflict between us; it’s just a coach’s choice. We try to motivate the players in various ways. Then it's up to them to show the right commitment; I shouldn't have to beg them."
Are you referring to Rafael Leao?
"I wasn’t talking about Leao when I mentioned commitment. It's hard to play with three wingers. Pulisic doesn’t play in Leao’s position; Okafor does. Today, Leao came on and responded well. And if we’re honest, we look at Okafor’s performance, and he played well. It’s hard for me to decide right now. Leao is working to get back in the lineup, and for me, that’s the most positive thing.
