Milan were favourites to beat Udinese, but they fluffed their lines in the end
AC Milan defender Alessandro Florenzi has stated that the absence of Samuel Chukwueze and Christian Pulisic played a role in their loss to Udinese on Saturday, Soccernet reports.
Former Serie A champions AC Milan fell to a 1-0 defeat against Udinese at the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium on Saturday.
AC Milan were favourites because of their pedigree and better quality, albeit they were missing some of their best legs. Coach Stefano had to prosecute the game with a two-pronged attack as Olivier Giroud and Luka Jovic led the line.
Chukwueze and Pulisic missed the tie because of injuries. Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu, and Ismael Bennacer were also notable absentees.
These absences were felt as Milan lacked the cutting edge in the final third, registering 14 goal attempts but failing to convert any.
Eventually, Roberto Pereyra's second-half strike proved to be the decider as Udinese ran out with all three points. After the game, Milan defender Florenzi asserted that the injuries in the squad affected them badly because there was no creativity in the team.
“Even last year, we had problems with closed teams. That's not a mitigating factor, but the absence of Christian and Chukwueze and their unpredictability was missing,” Florenzi said per Milan Post.
“It was good to play with the two forwards, but when we couldn't find the goal, we got nervous, and the defeat came.”
Coach Pioli may have a full squad, as Chukwueze is back in training, and he is expected to return to action by next week.
