Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Cagliari - San Siro, Milan, Italy - January 11, 2025 AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao reacts REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
MILAN, Italy (Reuters) - AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao said his forwards needed to be more selfish in front of goal after his two-game winning streak since taking over was halted by a disappointing 1-1 home draw against lowly Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday.
Cagliari shocked Milan with a quickfire equaliser in the 55th minute through defender Nadir Zortea, four minutes after Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock for Milan from close range on the Portuguese manager's Serie A debut.
"I expected much more at all levels," Conceicao told Sky Sport.
"I've been a coach for 13 years, and comparing the quality of this group to what we did, it was the weakest first half since I've started coaching.
"We lacked rhythm, quality... and we weren't that good and intelligent on this level."
Milan created 24 chances, 11 of them on target, but could not convert until Morata scrambled home a rebound 10 minutes into the second half.
"My feeling is that (Milan forwards) are altruistic," Conceicao said. "That's fine, I like a player like that. But there are moments when they have to be more simple.
"In front of goal you have to be selfish, a winger has to go one on one with the opponent. We look for a difficult (solution) sometimes and I don't like that, football is simple."
Asked whether the team needed more rules and discipline, the Milan coach admitted he liked to have things well-organised.
"It's my way of doing things for many years," he said.
"It's not that I come here and I have to do it by force. For me it's the simple things: schedules, training, being involved in the work day by day.
"If I got here halfway through the season it's because something wasn't right, and we have to take full responsibility. If we are strict and demanding outside the game then we will be strict and demanding in the game too."
Milan travel to 16th-placed Como on Tuesday before visiting Juventus next Saturday.
They then will look to extend their four-game winning run in the Champions League when they host Girona on Jan. 22.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
