Sergio Conceicao wants to see the selfishness of his attackers after AC Milan drew 1-1 at home to Cagliari.
Cagliari shocked Milan with a quick equalizer in the 55th minute through defender Nadir Zortea, four minutes after Alvaro Morata had broken the deadlock from close range.
The draw ended Conceicao's winning start under Milan's leadership. The Portuguese coach guided the Rossoneri to the Supercoppa Italiana title last week.
Milan finished the match with 24 shots, 11 of which were on target, and 2.14 expected goals to Cagliari's 0.37, and Conceicao believes his attackers need to be more ruthless.
“My feeling is that [the forwards] are altruistic,” Conceicao told Sky Sport.
“That's fine, I like a player like that. But there are times when it should be simpler.
“In front of the goal you have to be selfish, a winger has to play one-on-one with the opponent.
'We're looking for a difficult one [solution] Sometimes, and I don't like it, football is simple.”
Rafa at #MilanCagliari #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/xfZ4ztNoi4
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 12, 2025
Conceicao was particularly dissatisfied with Milan's performance in the first half.
“I expected much more at all levels,” Conceicao said.
“I have been a coach for 13 years and when I compared the quality of this group to what we did, it was the weakest first half since I started coaching.
“We lacked rhythm and quality, and at this level we were not that good and intelligent.”
When asked if the team needed more rules and discipline, the Milan coach replied: “It's been my way of doing things for years.
“It's not like I come here and have to do it by force. For me it's the simple things: schedules, training, being involved in the work day in and day out.
“If I came here halfway through the season, it is because something was wrong, and we must take full responsibility. If we are strict and demanding outside the game, we will be strict and demanding in the game too.”
Milan, who have drawn three straight league matches for the first time since January 2020, play Como on Tuesday before visiting Juventus next Saturday.
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