Alvaro Morata cannot argue with Milan fans hurling insults after their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League, but urges them not to ‘damage ourselves’ ahead of the derby with Inter.
It had seemed to be the ideal start to their Champions League adventure when Christian Pulisic opened the scoring after just three minutes, but it proved to be a false dawn.
By the end of the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, many of the fans had left the stands, those who remained were hurling abuse at the players.
“We started well and it was not easy to start the way we did against a great Liverpool side, one of the best teams in Europe,” Morata told Sky Sport Italia.
“We struggled with set plays and then getting it back on track against a team with that quality is difficult. We’ve got to keep working, working, working, we cannot do anything else.”
Morata responds to furious Milan fans
The few fans who remained to the final whistle and didn’t leave early then hurled insults at the team after the final whistle, chanting for them to show some guts – in different words.
“We have to respect what the fans say, because they pay to attend the games and it is our job to play. However, we cannot hurt ourselves too much, because we have another very important match coming up this weekend,” replied Morata.
The supporters were not so much upset at the result, but at the complete lack of reaction or fightback from Milan after going behind.
“It is not a problem caused by attitude or tactics, football is just like this. We conceded two goals from set plays, we could’ve scored from those situations instead. We have training tomorrow morning, another fundamental match this weekend and we have to keep going.”
It was said before Morata arrived that this team lacks leaders, so can he step up and take control of the locker room?
“There are many important players in this team, it is Milan. There are many with experience and talent, we just need to be a solid squad and not give the opponents opportunities to hurt us. We started so well, played well with the ball, and we must respect what is said, but not damage ourselves.”
How can they transform their mood with the Derby della Madonnina against Inter coming up on Sunday evening?
“I don’t know how, but we need to flip a switch, otherwise it becomes a really difficult situation. This was just the first match, I hope it can teach us that we need 100 per cent focus on every detail at this level, because that makes the difference in the Champions League.”
