Paulo Fonseca, coach of AC Milan, deplores the three penalties whistled (and missed) during the defeat at Fiorentina (2-1), in Serie A, on Sunday.
The improvement did not last long for AC Milan. After two victories in a row, the Lombards fell again at Leverkusen (1-0) on Tuesday in the Champions League then on Sunday at Fiorentina (2-1) in Serie A. And the scenario greatly annoyed Paulo Fonseca.
His team missed two penalties by Théo Hernandez (45th+1) and Tammy Abraham (56th), defeated by David De Gea, while Mike Maignan also repelled Moise Kean’s attempt (22nd) earlier in the match. Beyond this incredible series of failures, Fonseca deplores the overly systematic whistles of modern arbitration.
“Every slightest contact is a penalty”
“I don’t want to contribute to this circus,” he lamented. “I love football but every slightest touch is a penalty. Football is not like that.” The former Lille coach still regretted not having taken advantage of the windfall. “Until today we played well playing like this. Fiorentina didn’t create many chances, we missed a big one, we missed two penalties and conceded a goal like the last one… It’s getting difficult to win despite a lot of creation.”
Nothing therefore went as planned for Milan, particularly regarding the identity of the penalty takers, who were not those expected. “Our penalty taker is Pulisic, I don’t know why the players changed their minds. I spoke to him and told him this shouldn’t happen again,” added Fonseca.
The American midfielder made up for not having taken his responsibilities at 9.50m by equalizing with a superb recovery from a cross from Théo Hernandez (1-1, 60th) after the opening score from former Bordeaux player Yacine Adli (1-0, 35th). But that was not enough since Albert Gudmundsson gave the victory to the Viola (2-1, 73rd). “It’s difficult to explain how we conceded the last goal,” Fonseca complained again. “In the first half, we didn’t close the spaces well. And without aggression, we tensed up and lost the second balls.”
