Stefano Pioli, coach of Milan, has expressed his thoughts on his team’s defeat against Atalanta in the Coppa Italia to Sportmediaset.
“We played a very good first-half”, Pioli first reported, “meritoriously going into the lead before committing a major gaffe.” Later on, he transitioned into how they struggled in the second half, revealing that a controversial penalty changed the dynamics of the match. He stated, “The game changed on a non-existent penalty and after that we struggled.”
Pioli also mentioned the contentious foul by Holm towards the end of the match. He stated, “It’s difficult, there are many discussions about VAR and the use of VAR. Seeing it like this, it’s strange that the referee wasn’t called back. But the first penalty changed the game, it wasn’t there. The Atalanta player threw himself before the contact. The Coppa Italia was a goal for us.”
The full reaction from Stefano Pioli can be found on Milan News 24.