AC HUMBLED

AC Milan were left humbled after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid on aggregate in the last 16 Champions League outing of the season. Milan came into the second leg with hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals, as they trailed the Spanish outfit by just one goal. However, things quickly turned sour after Diego Costa scored just two minutes into the second leg. Milan got one goal back through Kaka’s header, but it was not enough to prevent the club from capitulating in the second half.

Seedorf has laid the blame for this performance in the second half on the hands of former manager Massimiliano Allegri, who he thinks did not keep the fitness levels within the players at an optimum level. The club conceded two goals in the second half to give the scoreline a flattering look towards the Spanish club, but Seedorf reckons that the competition was much more even over the course of two legs. He has also said that the decision to become the manager of Milan is something that he does not regret because he is confident that the club can regain its former status pretty quickly.

Seedorf has managed just one win in the last five matches. He says that the club would have done extremely well have a qualified for the quarter-finals, which would have paid huge dividends economically.

“You could see after the second goal that the team struggled psychologically to react, as they often do. The second goal turned off the light and sapped the energy from the team. We analysed the situation together. Obviously the Champions League was an important objective for us and economically for the club. We had played well in the first leg and showed in the first half tonight we could play on a par with Atletico, but couldn’t be consistent for the whole game,” said the manager.