Stefano Pioli spoke to the press after Milan’s defeat to Barcelona in Vegas.
Milan ended their United States without a win, as after losing to Real Madrid and drawing Juventus (before losing on penalties), the Diavolo also lost 1-0 to Barcelona, due to a great Ansu Fati goal in the 55′ minute.
The Rossoneri had a tough game against Barca, who were overall better and more dangerous. Despite playing mostly starters for the entire match, Milan did not produce a high-quality match, but coach Stefano Pioli was still pleased in the end.
“Overall, the tour has been very positive because we’ve worked really well,” he told MilanTV. “It’s been well-organized. We’ve had the opportunity to work on everything we wanted to. It’s also great that we’ve been involved in three high-quality matches. We’ve learned something in particular in every game. They’re all things we’ll work on. There are three weeks to go until the start of the league season but what I’ve seen in these three games has certainly been positive. We’ve also learnt a few things. The new arrivals are settling in well but it’s clear that a bit of time is needed. When you change league and teams, a bit of time is needed but they’re doing well.”
On the play: “We’re finding the right solutions in terms of our movement as we continue to try to always be dangerous. I think we were dangerous in all three matches but we didn’t always make the most of our chances.”
On the game: “We struggled to get the ball off Barcelona, but we worked very hard defensively. We also worked well, even if we did allow opportunities. However, this is only normal against such a high-quality side. We need to start losing the ball a bit less because quite a few of the problems we’ve had have come about after we’ve lost the ball. We need to manage it better. Obviously, one of our objectives is to get Rafa on the ball as much as possible. However, he can’t be the only player we turn to, and he also needs to give us the opportunity to pick him out even more consistently.”
On the facilities in the US: “It’s a fantastic stadium, a fantastic stadium. We’ve got to experience some great stadiums. We also watched Arsenal-Barcelona in Los Angeles. It was a stadium like this one, perhaps even bigger. It’s a fantastic facility. I think we’re a bit behind in Italy in this regard. It’s time for us to push on.”