AC Milan coach Pioli: We must learn lessons from Liverpool defeat | OneFootball

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli admits they have "real regrets" after Wednesday night's 3-2 defeat at Champions League opponents Liverpool.

The visitors were hanging on in the first half-hour, going a goal down and seeing Mike Maignan save Mohamed Salah's penalty, only to go into the break 2-1 up through Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz.

Salah equalised straight after the restart and Jordan Henderson decided it with a stunning half-volley from the edge of the box.

“Liverpool deserve credit for their intensity and quality, above all in the first 25 minutes," Pioli told Sky Italia.

“We had been able to turn it around and the real regrets are the two goals we conceded in the second half. Along with Liverpool's quality, we also made mistakes on those two goals. Hopefully, in future we'll face teams with slightly less quality and won't concede in those situations."

He continued: “This was a valuable lesson that will help us going forward. The team was motivated, we expected Liverpool to start strong, but were a bit too static and couldn't get past their first press. When you don't have the ball, you run into danger.

“It was a very good game of football, it's a pity we lost the game, because a strong start here would've been very important."

He added: “I leave Anfield aware this team can grow more and we still need that extra step up in terms of details, because those are what make the difference in the Champions League.

“We lost because on a set play we cleared the ball to the edge of the box and that is not what we ought to be doing.

“We know Liverpool make pace and intensity a big part of their game. We needed more movement off the ball to shake off our markers. When you are pressed so much, you need to pass the ball quicker and that's what we got wrong."