Soccer:AC Milan were today searching for an explanation after their 4-0 humiliation at Manchester United which saw them crash out of the Champions League. The Rossoneri failed to overturn a 3-2 defeat at home with a heavy loss in England.
Having had to settle for a place in the Uefa Cup last season, Milan had high hopes on their return to Europe’s elite club competition.
Milan went into the game at Old Trafford with several players not fully fit but few could have expected Leonardo’s side to be destroyed the way they were by Alex Ferguson’s outfit.
“Alessandro Nesta is a great champion and his absence hurt the team as did Daniele Bonera’s thigh injury throughout the game,” said AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati. “But injuries should not be an excuse for this defeat. To lose 4-0 for a team like Milan is difficult to digest.
“It’s not going to be easy to forget this result and I personally, feel ashamed of the outcome. But we have to admit that Man Utd played better than us. Ferguson’s side has great champions and they made our lives difficult from the start.
“Now we must only think of the domestic tournament and try to make it tough for Inter.”
AC Milan coach Leonardo has won a lot more than he has lost during his career. While it was a tough end to his first experience coaching in the Champions League, he knows Milan can recover.
“It would be superficial to analyse this game,” said Leonardo. “Without a doubt, this was a huge defeat against a great Manchester United side. We needed everything to go our way in order to go through but it was not to be.”
Despite being out of Europe and having been eliminated from the Coppa Italia earlier this year, Milan have a chance to win the scudetto. They trail city rivals Inter Milan by four points going into this weekend’s games.
“I believe that one should not judge Milan based on the game at Old Trafford,” said Leonardo. “We are still second in Serie A, four points behind Inter. Let’s focus on our strengths and not be conditioned by the negative result at Manchester United.
“This Milan side does not need to be transformed, it just needs to be intelligent and make sure this setback does not have a negative effect on our aims this season.”