Bacca goal should not have stood – Montella

Milan coach Vincenzo Montella admitted his side’s goal in their 1-0 win over Sassuolo should not have stood, but called for the referee’s decision to be respected.

Carlos Bacca slipped as he took a penalty for Milan in the 22nd minute of the game and his shot took a deflection off his standing leg before hitting the net.

Montella conceded that the kick was against the rules on penalties, but claimed an infringement by a Sassuolo player would have led to a retake.

“It is easy to talk afterwards,” Montella told Premium Sport.

“Bacca touched the ball twice and in accordance with the rules it should have been an indirect free-kick for Sassuolo, but the penalty would have been retaken because there was a player Sassuolo in the area.

“Everyone has their own interpretation.”

The win was Milan’s first at Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium, and Montella was full of praise for his side after picked up their third victory in four Serie A matches.

The Rossoneri are three points behind Lazio, who occupy sixth place in Serie A and the third of the division’s three Europa League qualifying spots.

Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco accused the match referee of “inadequate rigour”, but Montella credited the focus shown by his team while dismissing any complaints that the victory was the result of decisions that went in Milan’s favour.

“Surely we are not in credit [with decisions] with Sassuolo, but we don’t play only against Sassuolo,” said Montella. “I wonder how they manage to spend time watching all of our matches, game after game.

“You have to live with more serenity. I have this approach even when I suffer wrongs and I assure you that it is most of the time. The respect of the referees must not fail.”

He added: “This was a great victory against an opponent that has historically put us in difficulty at their ground. The game involved a lot of mental focus.”