No wins in 3 games and ravaged by injuries: AC Milan’s nightmarish Champions League campaign continues
AC Milan have made the worst possible start to their UEFA Champions League campaign and their chances of progressing out of Group F look bleak.
The Rossoneri have failed to match the high standards they set on their way to the semi-final of the competition last season. They suffered a 3-0 battering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in their last game on Wednesday, October 25.
A passive Milan team was largely outplayed by Luis Enrique’s side, who also proved to be more clinical. Goals from Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani, and Lee Kang-in put the Italians to the sword at the Parc des Princes.
On another day, the result could be downplayed as a one-off but the problem is that AC Milan are yet to come to the party in this season’s Champions League. They have been poor in all their European outings so far.
Rossoneri winless in Champions League
Stefano Pioli’s side went into Wednesday’s game unbeaten in the group following back-to-back goalless draws against Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund.
Although the Rossoneri weren’t too convincing in those matches, they at least maintained their compactness at the back and managed to shut out their opponents.
Against PSG, though, AC Milan were uncharacteristically disorganised at the back. All three goals they conceded could’ve been avoided with a bit more concentration and awareness.
The 3-0 result ultimately seemed harsh, considering that Milan also had some decent chances. But the bottom line is that the Italian side are still without a win. They are also yet to score in the Champions League after three games, and that is simply not good enough.
AC Milan hampered by injuries
Player-for-player, PSG have a superior squad to AC Milan, but the gulf in quality would’ve been closer if the Rossoneri had everyone fit.
Rather, the Serie A side went into the game without a number of key players. The likes of Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Ismael Bennacer were ruled out by injury.
The injuries prevented Pioli from fielding his strongest starting line-up. Hence, the squad that traveled to the Parc des Princes also lacked depth, which PSG took full advantage of.
“It’s a significant result. I think we did everything we had to do, but from a technical point of view, we should have played a better match,” Pioli conceded after the game, as quoted by Sempre Milan.
“They did better technically than us, taking advantage of the opportunities. In the first half, we recovered a lot of balls, in the second we lost too many balls and conceded a bad second goal.”
He added:
“There’s always concern when you lose two games in a row. I’ve seen things we can do better, so we have to try to raise our level. It’s not over, but we have to run by throwing ourselves back into the league first and foremost and thinking about Napoli.”
It’s been a difficult week for AC Milan, who lost to Juventus in the league at the weekend and have also now been thrashed by PSG. And although they remain second in Serie A, their Champions League form remains a source of worry after failing to win any of their group games thus far.