AC Milan manager Masimilliano Allegri has urged his team to eliminate defensive errors from their game as they look to kickstart their Serie season against Lecce on Friday.
Milan’s Serie A campaign got off to a disappointing start as they suffered a shock defeat to Cremonese in their opening fixture. Despite dominating the contest and unleashing 24 shots, the Rossoneri walked away from San Siro with nothing to show for their efforts.
Cremonese, on the other hand, proved ruthless with their limited opportunities. They managed just three shots on target but converted two of them, including a spectacular strike from Federico Bonazzoli that left Milan stunned. The hosts’ sole response came through a towering header from Strahinja Pavlovic, a moment that briefly revived hope but ultimately couldn’t prevent the loss.
Nevertheless, there is reason for measured confidence ahead of their clash with Lecce. Milan boast an impressive record against the Salentini, remaining unbeaten in their last 14 meetings and winning each of the most recent three. With those statistics in mind, Allegri will hope his men can turn the page quickly and rediscover their cutting edge to get their season back on track.
“We need to approach the game correctly and with great respect,” Allegri said.
“They have great enthusiasm; they played a great match in Genoa. [Lecce coach, Eusebio] Di Francesco makes his teams play well. We need to get on par with the others and run like them. Then our technical qualities will emerge, and that’s where we need to improve.
“With work, we’ll focus more on defence. We’re working on it. We hope not to concede tomorrow, but the deficit of conceding too many goals can’t be overcome in a few weeks, but I’m sure we’ll overcome it.
“Against Cremonese, we created a lot and shot a lot. We conceded two crosses where we were well-positioned, but mistakes followed and we conceded two goals from the two mistakes we made in the ninety minutes. We need to lower our game, if not eliminate it entirely. I still don’t know who will play tomorrow.”
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