Fonseca unimpressed by Milan’s defending

Paulo Fonseca wants Milan's defensive improvement after they almost let their lead slip in a 3-2 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

Milan secured a third successive Champions League victory but had to hold on as the home side pulled a goal back in the 88th minute and pushed for an equalizer.

While Fonseca was delighted that his side reached nine points, the Portuguese coach pointed to his team's defensive mistakes that led to the late drama.

“We have won the last three games in the Champions League. We have scored nine goals. It is very positive. Today it was important to win and that is what we did,” Fonseca told reporters.

“I think we dominated during the match. We changed a lot of players. We did some positive things, but also some things to improve, maybe because we changed a lot of players.”

“We didn't do well defensively, but after the break we improved. We deserved to win.”

3 – For the first time in #UCL, Milan have scored at least three goals in three consecutive matches; given the European Cup, this has not happened since 1989. Show.#SlovanMilan pic.twitter.com/jDV7kY4zMc

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 26, 2024

Slovan had just six shots but still managed 0.97 expected goals (xG), suggesting some high-quality chances were created.

Christian Pulisic gave Milan the lead after 21 minutes, but Tigran Barseghyan quickly leveled the score for the home side.

Rafael Leao became the first half-time substitute to score in the Champions League for Milan with his goal, the 500th goal scored by Portuguese players in the competition, and Tammy Abraham scored what turned out to be the winner three minutes later, with the eventual Nino Marcelli's late effort. not enough for Slovan.

Fonseca added that he did not see a problem in his players' attitude, but rather in reading and understanding the game while defending.

“These things are difficult to explain. Maybe because these defenders haven't played much. It's a matter of reading, not attitude,” he said.

“In the first half, when we let Slovan come out, it was a matter of defensive marking. We were too far away with the defenders, and they were always alone to come out. It's a problem of reading and understanding what happened.”

Milan climbed to 14th in the standings, with nine points from their five matches.