By Anna Italia
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Here are the post-match reaction from AC Milan Coach Filippo Inzaghi and players after losing  the Serie A Round 17 against Sassuolo at the San Siro on Tuesday 6 January 2015.   AC Milan 1 – 2 Sassuolo

COACH FILIPPO INZAGHI (to the Milan Channel)

“We will now have to analyse what went wrong today. I think the first 20 minutes, which were let’s say quite simple, deceived us slightly. This is what I think. We started well, we scored and came close to scoring a second through El Shaarawy. If we had made it 2-0, things would have been all that much easier. Instead, we became a bit sluggish, we didn’t play as well and Sassuolo did. We have to roll our sleeves up as we have another game in 3 days’ time and must get back on track. We must re-find our form from before the winter break. The first match after the winter break is always a strange one. We didn’t have a full squad available because of suspensions and injuries, but we have good players and those that take to the pitch always give their best. However, I believe that this side in order to grow also needs these kind of defeats, even if they do hurt. We know that to improve we need to be more consistent. We’re playing some good matches, but we’re not able to make that final step forward. We will have to improve on this aspect and make it happen. We knew Sassuolo were a well organised side, they do well in attack. There’s disappointment because the team started with the right attitude. The words of the President are always a motivation to us, we’re sorry that we weren’t able to win for him.” 

ANDREA POLI
“We did well in the first 20 minutes, taking the lead, and then afterwards our concentration dropped off and they got into the game. We’ve lost a match that was important, we’ve very disappointed, we must have the right spirit for the entire 90 minutes. As of Saturday, we want to put things right and go to Turin and get 3 points. We were dominating the match and then we gave up a bit. We’re sorry, but we have another match on Saturday and we have to bounce back, we have to bring home 3 points. They are a side that closes itself up to then counter-attack. They have some good individuals, but we need to have the right focus for 90 minutes. They had one corner kick and scored, whereas we had many more than them without scoring. We’re happy with the arrival of Alessio Cerci, he will definitely give us a hand. We have to now prepare in the best possible way for the Torino match, with focus and attention. If we work like this we will bring home a positive result.” 

COACH FILIPPO INZAGHI (press conference)

“I think the first 20 minutes deceived us, made us think that it was all easy. But in Serie A, nothing is simple especially against such an organised side. After El Shaarawy’s counter-attack we became imprecise, a bit sluggish and things then went wrong. I am disappointed as we were doing very well and this is a step back. This match will serve us as a lesson. This side needs to grow. The match against Real Madrid was only a friendly and I had said clearly that the match versus Sassuolo would have been a different match altogether. Today we deserved to lose and now we must be good in picking ourselves up right away. Today we made more mistakes than usual. The match after the winter break always has hidden dangers, we prepared well, but matters on the pitch say otherwise. In the second half we enjoyed more than 60% of the possession and perhaps we should have created more chances. We conceded from a corner and this cannot happen as they took just one corner in the entire match. We have to be more clinical in these matches. When you lose you have to take responsibility, we must look at what went wrong. The first 20 minutes were up to the Milan standard, but it’s not enough. We must roll our sleeves up as of tomorrow and prepare for a hard match against Torino. I’ve been saying as of July that we mustn’t forget where we started off from. When a side is rebuilding it’s normal that you go through highs and lows. Clearly, I hoped that these moments were behind us. I see how my players train and I believe in them. We’re sorry about disappointing the expectations of the President and our fans. When you lose, the coach and the players aren’t up to the standard of the match. Montolivo didn’t play in front of the defence, because we want players with quality in the wide midfield role.”