Milan through but Allegri wants more

5 December 2012 03:39

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes his side were unfortunate to lose to Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday.

Portuguese star Danny scored the only goal after 35 minutes, however, Malaga's positive record against Milan meant that the Italians would finish second in Group C regardless of the result.

And it means Milan have still to win at home in Europe's premier competition this term but Allegri is adamant that record should have ended on Tuesday.

"We created a lot of chances and played with a good pace but unfortunately we conceded in what was their only chance in the game," Allegri told Milan's official website.

"At the moment, the objective is Torino (in Serie A on Sunday), third place is still far away. We’ll be thinking of each game as it comes, in the Italian cup as well.

"Acerbi and Zapata played well and conceded very little to Zenit. We weren’t lacking in commitment, the team played well from a technical point of view even though the motivation can’t have been at its highest.

"We didn’t deserve to lose though, I'm disappointed for the players but we have to start not conceding goals. Twenty goals in 21 games is too much, we have to do better in certain situations.

"I'm happy with all the individual performances including Mesbah and Ambrosini, who both came back from injuries.

"We'll see about Montolivo in the next few days, if there's any risk, he won't be on the pitch against Torino."

Ambrosini shrugs off Zenit defeat

5 December 2012 00:43

AC Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini has played down their 1-0 home defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.

A first-half goal from Danny meant the Russian champions claimed the win and Group C's Europa League spot, but Ambrosini was adamant his side had done enough to emerge victorious at San Siro, despite not needing the points having already guaranteed a spot in the last 16.

"We talked about what we should have done on the pitch before the game, we tried to play the best we can as usual," he told reporters.

"We're through, anyway, but I think that the round-of-16 will be really tough. We are improving match by match, and we can do even better than what we have accomplished lately.

"We lost tonight, but I think that we played better than them. We played a good first half, maybe we didn't create many chances but we were in control of the ball and of the game.

"We're sorry that we lost, we wanted to keep our momentum going, but that's football."

Ambrosini's team-mate Mathieu Flamini shared his sentiments, claiming Milan had 'dominated' their opponents but failed to reap any rewards for their efforts.

"We took the initiative and created many scoring opportunities. They defended well and didn't allow us anything," the Frenchman added.

"The president (Silvio Berlusconi) told us this was an important game and we wanted to win, but were unable to do so.

"We are disappointed because we dominated the game, but instead they punished us with their only chance in the first half.

"After the goal they shut up shop and we couldn’t find the space to score despite our efforts."

Milan next take on Torino on Sunday, as they aim to make it three wins on the bounce in Serie A.

Spalletti rules out Milan move

4 December 2012 03:31

Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti believes he is too old to be the next AC Milan manager.

Current boss Massimilliano Allegri has come under huge criticism for the San Siro side's poor performances in Serie A this term, and Spalletti has been repeatedly linked to take over.

However, the 53-year-old has revealed a move to the San Siro is not on his mind.

"I am too old to coach Milan," Spalletti said on Monday ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League clash at Milan.

"I want to continue in Russia anyway. I have a good relationship with the president here and have only just renewed my contract. I would, however, like to coach in England in the future."

Although he ruled out a move to the Rossoneri, he gave a compliment to one of their star players this season, Stephan El Shaarawy.

"El Shaarawy is a beautiful player. I became aware of him when he was offered to me back when I was at Empoli in 1998," he said.

The Italian has been in charge of Zenit since 2009 and has won the Russian Premier League twice.