Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca slammed his players for their lack of effort despite beating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Tammy Abraham scored the winning goal for the Rossoneri in the 87th minute after Rafael Leao's effort was canceled out by Nemanja Radonjic's stunning effort.
Milan dominated play at the San Siro for much of the match, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.13 from their 20 shots to their opponents' 0.48.
The result also ensured Milan recorded a fourth consecutive league victory for the first time since a run of five wins between February and April 2005.
Despite his side moving up to 12th in the 36-team standings with two games remaining, Fonseca had some stern words for his side after the match.
“I have to talk to the team. I don't want to talk too much, I want to analyze the game, but there are things that are clear to me,” Fonseca told Sky Sports.
“It is not a tactical or technical issue. We arrive here for a decisive match for us, and to feel that we are not doing everything to win the match is the worst feeling we can have.”
Back-to-back-to-back-to-back #UCL wins #ACMFKCZ #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/fjTZGbpDzW
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 11, 2024
With Red Star recording just one win from their five games heading into the San Siro encounter, they created several chances to take the lead in the second half.
But that goal never came for Vladan Milojevic's side, who have now lost all 12 away games in the Champions League, the worst away record of any side in the competition's history.
However, their performance gave Fonseca plenty to think about ahead of Milan facing Genoa on their return to Serie A this weekend, with even his side's effort being questioned.
“I know I work every day to do well. I don't know if everyone on our team can say that,” Fonseca added.
“We have an obligation to give and do everything to win, and we didn't do that.
“I have to talk to the team about what happened on the pitch. They have to understand that this cannot happen.”
Comments