Tassotti: ‘Milan unbalanced, Theo and Leao must apologise’ | OneFootball

Milan legend Mauro Tassotti admits that the Rossoneri are still unbalanced under new coach Paulo Fonseca, but Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao ‘must apologise.’

Milan have had a slow start to the season, earning just two points in the opening three matches.

They picked up draws against Torino and Lazio and lost to Parma. The Rossoneri scored five goals but conceded six already.

“Milan are struggling to be aggressive and dominate games,” ex-Milan defender Tassotti told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“It’s a tricky part of the campaign; the physical shape is far from ideal, and a new coach needs time to enter the players’ minds.

“The team is unbalanced and concede from counter-attacks. I think they want to defend as a unit, while we saw man-on-man defending last season. I don’t know how much time Fonseca has had to work on this. It takes time and hard work, it can’t happen from one day to another.

Tassotti: ‘Milan unbalanced, Theo and Leao must apologise’

“Most importantly, Milan must defend as a team, and if they want to be attacking-minded, they need strikers to track back. I am not only talking about Leao. In modern football, you attack and defend with 11 men. Today’s defenders cannot defend with a numerical disadvantage, so they need help from everyone.”

Leao and Theo caused outrage during Saturday’s game against Lazio by not joining their teammates and coach Fonseca for a cooling break.

The France international said he and Leao needed no break as they had just been introduced from the bench, and CEO Giorgio Furlani played down controversies on Tuesday.

However, it remains a big matter of debate in the country, and Tassotti believes the pair should apologise.

“It was not nice to see. The players should apologise, even if only just inside the locker room. It was a crazy thing, and Theo’s words sounded like an excuse. The attitude was wrong. There’s nothing else to say.”

Tassotti, 64, is a former Milan and Italy defender and an ex-assistant of Carlo Ancelotti at San Siro. He played 583 games with the Rossoneri, winning five Serie A titles and three Champions League trophies.