After losing to Inter 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, Steven Gerrard criticized AC Milan.
Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored in the first two minutes to put Stefano Pioli's team 2-0 down. A penalty that could have put them three down was controversially overturned after 30 minutes.
Although the Rossoneri did get better as the game went on and didn't allow any more goals, it was still a lackluster display.
After the game, Gerrard commented on BT Sport, "That performance from AC Milan is so far away from semi-final level at this Champions League, it's frightening."
They appeared to be a group of players who were on the field. They didn't engage in joint play. The manager must be mulling things over.
The team's lack of passion was shown by his criticism of Sandro Tonali's refusal to follow Mikhitaryan for the second goal. Tonali was being particularly slothful in this situation, allowing a man to flee from him.
"There is no relationship between the two center halves, and there is no communication." How can you allow someone to run straight through the team's heart when there is no communication?
The two Milan center backs and the two center midfielders "were so passive and weak for the entire 90 minutes."
Peter Crouch concurred, labeling Milan's defensive effort in such a crucial game as "bizarre."
The fact that AC Milan only lost 2-0 is the nicest thing about tonight's performance, he said.
They were awarded a penalty, it struck the post, and Dzeko squandered a good opportunity. AC Milan's defense was all over the place. They've been really good defensively from what I've seen of them this season.
"They were all over the place, but we built them up defensively before the game." It could have been much worse, but Inter deserves respect for playing like they were in a Champions League semifinal against AC Milan.
In just six days, Pioli's team will play the second leg, and they have a challenging assignment.
The second leg of the other semifinal, which saw Man City and Real Madrid tie 1-1 in the first leg on Tuesday, will be decided on next Wednesday.
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