AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that his team have only themselves to blame after losing a two-goal lead against Fiorentina to put themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to competing against Napoli in the table.
After struggling with form during the early part of the campaign, the arrival of Mario Balotelli has significantly changed the fortunes of Milan. They are now in the top three of the Italian Serie A table with an opportunity to overtake Napoli and finish in the second position. However, they could only manage a 2-2 draw against fourth placed Fiorentina during the weekend.
This was a very bad result considering the fact that Milan were 2-0 up in the match after 62 min on the clock. Montolivo had given Milan the lead after just 14 min, while former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini scored the 62nd minute goal to give Milan a formidable advantage in the match. They were able to take advantage of the red card given to Fiorentina player –Tomović – in the 40th minute. However, two penalties in the space of 7 min helped Fiorentina get back on level terms even with the man disadvantage.
As a result of this dropped two points, Milan have fallen four points behind Napoli in the table with only few matches remaining.
“The second half was not positive, as we were caught napping. It’s a shame, as this could’ve been a very important victory to cut Fiorentina out of the race for third. We need to stay calm now, as we do some great things and the mistakes are part of the maturing process of this side. Paradoxically, Milan played better against 11 men than 10. We let ourselves go in terms of intensity and were half-asleep. We need to improve in terms of determination and effort,” said Allegri.