Atalanta left San Siro with a defeat that contained both a warning and a measure of encouragement. Three goals down after an hour against Milan, the Bergamo side found two late responses but could not force the equaliser, slipping to a fourth Serie A loss in five matches.
Quick facts
- Milan beat Atalanta 3-2 at San Siro.
- Atalanta were 3-0 behind after 60 minutes before scoring twice late on.
- The result followed Atalanta’s Conference League win over Pafos.
- Maurizio Sarri disputed several handball decisions involving Kristensen, Orbic and Milan defender De Winter.
- Sarri said his side had an opportunity to make it 3-3 six minutes before the 90th minute.
Sarri’s assessment centred on a first half in which he felt Atalanta suffered from a sequence of unfavourable moments. He also believed a VAR review could have been considered for De Winter’s intervention, which he said may have amounted to handball.
The Atalanta coach did not describe the initial approach as entirely wrong, but felt his team lost some of its aggression as Milan grew into the match. In his view, the home side took control during a spell when little went Atalanta’s way.
There was particular frustration over the penalty decisions. Sarri said handballs by Kristensen and Orbic were punished, while a touch by a Milan defender was not judged worthy of a spot-kick.
“Two mishit shots ended up striking our players’ hands, then one of their defenders touched the ball and nothing was given,” Sarri said. “This seems to happen to me quite often with Chiffi.”
The sharper regret, though, came from the final stages. Atalanta created a chance for 3-3 with six minutes of normal time remaining, and Sarri felt the five minutes of added time offered enough scope for his side, with 11 players, to pursue more than a draw.
“It is disappointing because we lacked a little aggression in the first half and paid for it,” he said. “The regret remains because we had the ball for 3-3 six minutes from the end.”
For all the damage to the league run, Sarri saw value in the final half-hour. Atalanta’s late push at San Siro, he argued, should strengthen the group’s belief that it can compete at a high level.
“Playing the final 30 minutes like that at San Siro must give us conviction,” Sarri said. “We are becoming a team of a good standard, but we have to find the determination to extend those high-level spells over a longer period.”
