AC Milan boss sends warning to Newcastle United after humiliating derby defeat

AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli has warned Newcastle United there will be “psychological blowback” following their 5-1 defeat to city rivals Inter Milan.

The Rossoneri suffered their heaviest derby defeat since 1974 ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash at the San Siro. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice with Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu and Davide Frattesi also on the scoresheet.

Assessing the defeat, Pioli said: “We conceded goals during the moments when we seemed like we could get it back on track, The second goal was particularly damaging, as we misplaced passes and gave it away.

“We were distracted on their counter-attacks and that was the case more or less throughout. We got back into it deservedly, as we were dominating possession, only to then immediately concede a third goal and that knocked the wind out of our sails.

“It is disappointing to lose a derby, especially by such a wide scoreline, but we were in it until the third goal. At times, Inter were certainly smarter and sharper than we were in decisive moments. This is the gap we saw today with Inter. We clearly can do better and will work to understand those situations better. It is natural at the start of a season with so many changes that we can still have a few difficulties.

“I will keep the 70 minutes, but the final 15 are to be wiped out, because we simply stopped playing and that shouldn’t happen.”

Pioli then backed his team to “do better” against the Magpies, who returned to winning ways in the Premier League via 1-0 victory over Brentford.

“The important thing now is to prepare for the Champions League,” Pioli said. “My team is mature and will be able to analyse what went wrong so that we can do better on Tuesday.

“There is certainly no risk of psychological blowback in the Champions League. It is only the start of the season and we have what it takes to be competitive. This is the classic match that helps you to grow in the long run, even though the result is far too heavy considering the way we played.”