Udinese boss Runjaic ‘accepts’ Milan defeat: “When you play against teams like that”
Kosta Runjaic saw his Udinese side fall to a sixth straight defeat, but he was encouraged by some of what he saw against AC Milan.
Milan recorded an important win on Sunday night in Udine as Christian Pulisic and Omari Hutchinson scored in each half to secure a second consecutive league victory. It is a result that also propels Ruben Amorim’s side into the top four, drawing level on points with Roma.
For Udinese, it was a case of things going from bad to worse as they suffered another defeat that keeps them stuck on four points after eight games. The pressure is dialling up on the coach to turn things around, with the Friulian side hovering above the drop zone.
Runjaic spoke at a post-match press conference at the Bluenergy Stadium to give his take on the game, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Could Milan have won by an even bigger margin?
“I accept the defeat, which obviously doesn’t do us any good. In my opinion, we saw a vibrant team this evening. Obviously, they’re a team that needs to work, but compared to the match against Lecce, we’re on the right track.
“We conceded two goals, one early in the match, favouring our opponent. So, to delve into today’s analysis in detail, the team gave everything they had. We shouldn’t have made the mistakes we did, unfortunately, that happened, but when you play against teams like that, that’s how it is.
“We also had a few chances, but we weren’t able to capitalise on them, unlike Milan. It’s true that they could have scored a few more goals, but if everything had gone our way, we could have finished the first half 0-0, but that’s not the case. It’s not a great moment, but tonight I saw a vibrant team.”
Will the match against Parma be decisive?
“We want to win every game. That’s how it is. First of all, we have to get back to not conceding goals. The feeling is that we can concede with every shot. Even with Milan’s second goal, we could have done better, but we didn’t manage it.
“Now we have to regain our strength because we’ll be playing against Parma and then Roma. Wednesday’s match will be important for both teams. Zanioli returned today, and he came on well. He’ll have more space in Parma.
“Davis is on the right track, it was positive to see Pioltrowski on the pitch. Palma was fantastic, as was Kabasele. There were many positives, but obviously, you can’t say everything went well. Parma will be considered a final.”
Udinese are not playing badly, but they have had moments of darkness where they could have conceded more than one goal: why?
“You can see how we don’t defend very well. Sometimes it’s due to set pieces, other times to individual errors. Today we lacked the perception of danger. We knew Milan were good at using the ball in depth, yet we allowed it. We weren’t present, and Milan capitalised on our mistake.
“In my opinion, we need to change some things, some small things, to get back on track. We need to avoid mistakes against opponents like Milan. Now it’s up to us to show what we’re capable of, starting against Parma. We need to turn things around and take some luck on our side.”
