Albertini explains where Milan went wrong against Inter and how they can come back

Former AC Milan midfielder Demetrio Albertini has admitted that Inter are stronger at the moment but Stefano Pioli’s side should believe in a comeback.

Milan will have a mountain to climb in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Inter after losing the first act 2-0 at San Siro. They were rocked by a lightning start as the Nerazzurri scored twice in the first 11 minutes through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Things really threatened to get out of hand from there with the Rossoneri’s defence all at sea, and though there was a second half improvement from Pioli’s men it was not enough to get on the scoresheet.

Albertini spoke during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport about what Milan need to do differently in the second leg, remarking that he arrived as a spectator but left as a player having seen such a game unfold in front of him.

“Milan had just lost 2-0 to Inter and I had an incredible desire to take to the field, it’s been a long time since it happened to me. What I would give to be able to play with them on Tuesday’s second leg,” he began.

If you want to play with Calabria and his team-mates, it’s because you believe that a Milan comeback is possible. Correct?

“Yes. It will be difficult, it will be very hard, but it is not impossible. Inter are stronger than Milan, they proved it in all the derbies played in these two seasons, even in those won by Milan.

“But be careful: the Nerazzurri are superior but not unbeatable, because, except in Riyadh, in every derby they have conceded ‘windows’ of vulnerability that Milan can and must take advantage of. It is from this concept that we will have to start again on Tuesday.”

And maybe from a different approach than the one shown at the start in the first leg?

“Absolutely. Well, this is the aspect that most disappointed me about Milan the other night. There are some players in the team who are playing in a Champions League semi-final for the first and perhaps last time in their careers: they must be very aware of what it is about.

“The attitude in the first half against Inter is the furthest away from a match of this level. When you prepare for a match like this, you can’t help but think of conceding a goal in the first few minutes, as happened in Milan with Dzeko: it can happen that you get caught ‘cold’, but the team must continue to do what they have worked on week, otherwise everything collapses.”

Are you sure that this year’s Milan are capable of reacting? When Inter start strong as happened in the 0-2 first leg, the Rossoneri seem unable to find countermeasures…

“I repeat, it’s a matter of attitude. Against Napoli, both at San Siro and at Maradona, Milan were prepared and knew what they were getting into: they suffered, they accepted to suffer the attacks of their opponents but they held up and then struck, without ever losing their bearings.

“It can be done, and Milan have already shown that they know how to do it. I recently re-read Cholo Simeone’s book and there is a passage that I think is appropriate for the Rossoneri: ‘The strongest do not always win, but whoever believes more that what they have prepared this week will lead them to victory’.”