After Paulo Fonseca’s pointed remarks about referee La Penna’s officiating at the end of Atalanta - Milan, the Rossoneri club expressed yesterday that they share the Portuguese coach’s frustration, "especially because in the past we were criticised for never raising our voice in the face of other errors and omissions." At the same time, however, the Milan management was not pleased with the second half performance in Bergamo by the team.
This was reported this morning by Il Giornale, which explained that Milan’s second half was disappointing and judged as subpar by the club’s leadership.
Nevertheless, they sought to shield the team from rumours and criticism, especially with the crucial Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade just days away—a match the Rossoneri must win at all costs.
The decline of Milan’s performance began with Christian Pulisic’s injury-induced exit, after which the team effectively stopped playing and settled for a draw.
While Fonseca focused on La Penna’s refereeing during the post-match comments, Álvaro Morata, as usual, took responsibility and offered a candid assessment.
He asserted that Milan’s failure to win in Bergamo wasn’t due to the referee.
What did Milan striker, Alvaro Morata, say?
"We lost a very important match, and also the way we lost it. They have players of great quality, and we defended very well, but in two situations… On the first, the free kick came from a very light foul, but then the goal followed. We can’t look at the referees or things like that because we didn’t deserve to win today."
As always, the Spaniard was the most clear-headed of all.
