Fabregas: ‘Como proud of 1-1 Milan draw, apology for Allegri’ row
Cesc Fabregas apologised for his touchline row with Max Allegri, but was ‘very proud’ of Como’s 1-1 draw with Milan. ‘The one time you aren’t perfect, they hurt you.’
The Rossoneri won 3-1 at the Stadio Sinigaglia when these sides met on January 15, despite Como dominating possession and having more chances.
They made changes in light of that encounter, moving to three at the back and using a False 9 system to give the Milan defence fewer reference points in their marking.
Nico Paz pounced on a Mike Maignan howler to give them the lead, but Rafael Leao ran onto a long Ardon Jashari ball over the top to lob Jean Butez for the equaliser.
Fabregas calms Milan vs. Como tension
There was tension on the touchline between Alexis Saelemaekers, a member of Como’s staff, and Milan coach Allegri, which Fabregas wanted to discuss right off the bat.
“I want to apologise first and foremost, I did something I am not proud of, and was unsporting. We’ve got to keep our hands to ourselves, as Chivu said the other day, especially the coaches,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.
The Como team manager was sent off along with Allegri for that argument.
“It was a game where our goalkeeper was only really tested at the 70th minute, which shows how well we did. We showed impressive calm and focus in this atmosphere, especially for such a young and inexperienced squad.
“We lost a silly ball and know that when we leave too much space for the counter-attack against world class players, they can hurt you. It was practically the only time they played it behind us, but that shows you the level, as one time you aren’t perfect, that is when they hurt you.
“We can only try to aspire to the perfect performance, which of course does not exist, but we hope to one day get close to it.”
The former midfielder has become something of a challenger to those who adjust their teams to neutralise the strengths of others, but tonight he showed it can be done in a balanced way.
“I am very proud of this strong performance, now we need to do it again on Saturday if we want to pick up points in Turin. We’ve got to get our heads there too. The team proved that playing one way or another, we still manage to give a good account of ourselves, and it was important to put in this performance after the defeat to Fiorentina.”
Luka Modric was pulling the midfield strings for Milan this evening.
“It’s a true pleasure to watch him play. What can you say, when he’s 41 years old and playing at this level? You try to press him with three or four players, he doesn’t care, he just controls it perfectly and turns to get away. We can be thankful that he is in Serie A and we get to watch him every week.”
Nico Paz will be suspended for the showdown with Juventus in Turin, as he was booked today for a mistimed sliding tackle. Can Como keep up the pace with the European places?
“I try not to talk about the table. We had two tough months, as we were not accustomed to playing every two or three days. We did it with 17 players available, so we need to rotate, have fresh legs, players who are convinced they can play, that’s why I don’t tell them until the last minute who is starting. I want them all concentrated and on their toes.
“The body is not going to be at 100 per cent, the doctors say you should leave 72 hours minimum between matches and we don’t have that, but we’ve got to keep going.”