Despite his side falling to a 2-0 defeat against Juventus on Sunday evening, AC Milan forward Giampaolo Pazzini has expressed satisfaction at their performance.
Goals from Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez put the Rossoneri to the sword at San Siro, but having perhaps been the better of the two teams in the first half, Pazzini believes that Milan conceded at the worst possible time, after failing to take their chances in front of goal.
“We started very strongly, with great intensity, in order to put Juve in difficulty,” Pazzini told la Domenica Sportiva.
“Then, it’s clear that as we failed to score, we gave them the opportunity to finish us off.
“The timing of the goal is a shame – the fact that it arrived just before the interval.
“It remains a great performance against an excellent side.
“I try to make myself available for the team, and tonight I’m satisfied with our display, however there’s a touch of bitterness, because to lose after playing so well in the first period really hurts.”
Pazzini, who broke his nose whilst playing for Sampdoria during the 2009-10 season and became famous for wearing a protective mask, ironically suffered the same injury against the Blucerchiati last week, and was forced to sport a similar mask against Juventus.
“The mask? it’s not very comfortable, you need to get used to it a little, however it remains uncomfortable,” he continued.
“You can’t see so well with it on, and you lose a little space, but there wasn’t an alternative.”
While results have certainly picked up in Milan, the Diavolo have scored just eight goals in their last seven league games since Clarence Seedorf took the reins, meaning that they are scoring less than they did when Massimiliano Allegri was in charge.
“Of course, we have more offensive players, however at times that doesn’t necessarily mean more goals.
“We definitely have a different approach though, as we defend higher up the pitch, and we will have to get better at putting the ball in the back of the net.
Follow Anthony Alborino on Twitter: @anthonyalborino
