Giampaolo demands attacking improvement after losing AC Milan start

Marco Giampaolo demanded an attacking improvement from AC Milan after a 1-0 defeat at Udinese in his first Serie A game in charge of the team.

Rodrigo Becao scored on his Serie A debut, with Giampaolo not selecting any of the Rossoneri’s new signings in his XI on Sunday.

Giampaolo sent on new faces Ismael Bennacer and Rafael Leao from the bench, but Milan could not break down Igor Tudor’s side at the Dacia Arena.

The former Sampdoria coach saw his side fail to record a single shot on target and he was in no doubt why Milan fell to defeat, despite seeking positives from the performance.

“The match speaks for itself and it’s not good when AC Milan lose,” Giampaolo told Milan TV. “I picked up on many things today, beyond that of just the result.

“The team tried to do what I asked of them, looking to impose themselves and take the game to the opposition. We must work on our offensive play because we struggled in that department.

“It’s not just the lads’ responsibility but more a matter of specific characteristics. I must go beyond the result in understanding how we can be at our best. Maybe I asked them certain things but they have different characteristics.

“Up until now, the lads have shown me great willingness. I must now find the best solution according to the characteristics of certain matches.”

1 – Rodrigo Becao is the first Udinese player to score in his Serie A debut since Maicosuel (August 2012). Surprise.#UdineseMilan pic.twitter.com/NVhkPv5cWV

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) August 25, 2019

Milan were denied a penalty when Alessio Romagnoli’s header hit Samir on the arm, as no spot-kick was awarded following a VAR check.

“We’re annoyed by the result, but my evaluations wouldn’t be different if we’d have equalised from the penalty spot,” Giampaolo added.

“I must make some serious analysis, looking to understand where the team must improve and what works well. I must be objective. It may be that they award the penalty for an equaliser but this wouldn’t lead me to any different evaluations.

“When you lose, it’s only right for there to be controversial issues, but we must focus on ourselves – looking to play better football than we did today and without losing sight of being protagonists. We’ll only achieve this through hard work.”