AC Milan coach Pioli offer no excuses after Sassuolo shock | OneFootball

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli offered no excuses after their 3-1 defeat at home to Sassuolo.

Alessio Romagnoli had given Milan the lead before Gianluca Scamacca struck twice and Domenico Berardi also found the back of the net.

“We lacked sharpness, because we made too many mistakes. We had so many half-chances that we didn't take because of the wrong choices," said Pioli.

“When we did take the lead, we didn't hold on longer than three minutes, and those are the crucial moments of the match. Clearly, something didn't work."

He continued: “I didn't see a lack of concentration or determination. I think mentally we just weren't sharp and made the wrong choices.

“Our approach to defending does require one-on-one situations, it's just that we lost several of them today against quality players like Scamacca and Berardi.

“It's never just about the defence, we gave the ball away too cheaply and certainly shouldn't have conceded the third goal.

“I don't believe it was the wrong approach, we just made bad choices. We are aware of our strengths and our weaknesses, so we need to keep working. We had a very strong start to the season, then in recent games have fallen away a little due to various situations, but we can get back on track.

“This squad was built for two tournaments and we hope to remain in the Champions League for as long as possible. I used five players who weren't starting in Madrid precisely so we'd have fresh legs and minds, but Sassuolo are a technically-gifted and quick side who created real problems."