“Starting the game the way we did with those first 20 minutes was embarrassing,”*coach Gattuso told Sky Italia at the end of the match.*“If you go 2-0 down in that match, you’re not going to recover from that. We have to resolve these issues, because our attitude in the first 20 minutes was awful.
“We came out fighting in the second half, but it’s not enough. Cagliari deserved to be 2-0 up at the break and we would’ve been dealing with a completely different match. The team? Right now both I and those who represent the club have to ensure these young players realize that they are strong, because a lot of them don’t get it yet. We knew it’d be difficult in Sardinia, but we can’t be angry at the final whistle because we wanted to win it. We should’ve thought of that earlier.
“We’re lacking vertical plays? I agree. Higuain is coming back deep so much and in the first half-hour I didn’t see a single forward run from the midfield. We’ve got to push forward and try more through balls, not just with Biglia. Higuain keeps the ball and helps the team move up. He’s a player who helps our wingers to play wide. We need to improve finding space with our midfielders and wingers.
“Insertions from midfield? We get there in the last 15-20 meters, the problem is we miss the final play. Kessié arrives in that area 15-20 times per match, but we have to be good at making things happen. Çalhanoğlu played below his qualities, but this often happens when he returns from his NT.
“If Milan can be the anti-Juve? It’s laughable. There is a long road ahead of us, the team has potential to improve and be strong. If we can’t win this type of game, and in fact I thought we were lucky to get a point, then it makes me laugh to hear people say we’re the second or third top team in Serie A.
“If we manage to improve certain aspects, then we can go far. This season compared to last year? I was born a week prematurely so I was in a hurry already when I was in the belly. This team has the passion and the grit, but needs a punch in the teeth before it pulls that out. I’m happy with compliments but we’ve got to read games better and have the right attitude. We prepared for this match and we knew the difficulties and in the first 20 minutes, we did the exact opposite of everything we had prepared. If we want to be protagonists this season, we can’t afford to do that.”
Speaking to RadioRai, Rino added:*“I’m sorry for how we started this game, in the first 20 minutes we could’ve found ourselves 2-0 down. For the umpteenth time, we gave 20-25 minutes to the opponents. The biggest regret is to see that the team is surprised when the opponents play vehemently. We cannot afford to approach games like that. We always arrive second, this is the aspect that we have to improve. It’s not good to start playing only after a ‘slap’.
“My players don’t know what potential they have. We showed some pride in the second half but I cannot be content. I have to understand how to solve this problem that we’ve been dealing with for a long time. Our wingers need to score more? It’s true that with the quality they have then they have to score more. Perhaps the wingers should do more, but maybe the midfielders score their goals.”