Allegri happy for Milan to bide their time
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Article summary
Massimiliano Allegri praised AC Milan's patience after Zlatan Ibrahimović struck twice in four second-half minutes to see off an AJ Auxerre side Jean Fernandez said were short of experience.
Article top media content
Article body
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri praised his side's patience after Zlatan Ibrahimović struck twice in four minutes midway through the second period to earn the Group G spoils against UEFA Champions League debutants AJ Auxerre.
Massimiliano Allegri, Milan coach
I liked the patience the team showed during the game. Auxerre did a lot of pressing, but we made the right choices up front and luckily we found the goal that broke the deadlock. After that, Milan played very well, though we could have upped our game further in the latter stages.
We still have a lot to do: this is just the beginning. We weren't at our best in the first half, but it's difficult when you are up against opponents who are so tight at the back. We bided our time, waited for the right moment and won the match. Now the challenge is to maintain it as on our day we can beat anybody, especially when we are given space.
Jean Fernandez, Auxerre coach
We showed a lack of experience. Our first counterattack [when Steeven Langil opted to shoot despite having two team-mates in space] was a pivotal moment. If we had scored we would have taken something back to France. Even after they went 1-0 up we were still in the mix but the second goal hurt us.
Again, it was an individual error – poor positioning from Delvin [Ndinga] – which allowed them to score the second so soon after the first. After that it was all over. We expended a lot of energy but we should draw confidence from our performance for the first hour here. Then we just crumbled in the space of five minutes.
