Inexperienced Milan must learn lessons – Gattuso

Gennaro Gattuso admitted he and his young AC Milan squad have significant room for growth after ending their six-game Serie A winless run on Sunday.

The Rossoneri registered their first victory since mid-March with a 2-1 win at Bologna courtesy of first-half goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and Giacomo Bonaventura.

But they wasted several opportunities to extend the margin and were made to survive a nervy final 15 minutes after Sebastien De Maio reduced the deficit.

Milan ultimately held on to restore some pride after last weekend’s humiliating defeat to bottom side Benevento, and Gattuso says the latest result should serve as another lesson.

“If you don’t close out games, opponents will have their chances as well. It doesn’t take long to complicate games,” he told Premium Sport.

“Mentality is the problem. If you look back over the results, even over the last four or five years, we’ve struggled against the smaller clubs.

“Today, other than Cristian Zapata, Leonardo Bonucci, Bonaventura and Ricardo Rodriguez, they were all young players. We’ve got the foundations to do well in future and to gain experience.

“I need to improve as well. I’m 40, I’m not 60, so I need some experience just like my players.”

Forzaaa Milan  Hard earned victory in Bologna!  #HC10 #milan #seriea #heretocreate @acmilan pic.twitter.com/P9MQQXLCbY

— Hakan Çalhanoğlu (@hakanc10) April 29, 2018

Sunday’s victory keeps Milan on track to finish seventh, which would be enough to secure a Europa League qualifying place.

However, with eighth-placed Sampdoria trailing by just three points, Gattuso is eager to prevent a loss of concentration.

“We saw against Benevento what we are capable of doing in a negative way,” he said.

“We’ve got to get back on our feet – some players are struggling physically. We’ve got Verona next, then the Coppa Italia final against Juventus and then Atalanta. We can’t drop points.”