AC Milan failed to win the last two games of 2016 after a 1-0 loss against Roma followed by a goalless draw against Atalanta.
Following the last game, manager Vincenzo Montella said that he was happy with the performance of the players even though it was a goalless draw. The result did not help Milan’s hopes of being closer to the top three than ever before. Milan could have closed the gap on the top two places since Juventus and Roma were taking on each other in the other game. As it is, the club remain fifth in the table – two points behind third placed Napoli.
Montella has been a revelation this campaign, as he has managed to transform Milan’s fortunes even when spending just € 26 million on new players. The club recently secured new owners, who have promised to ramp the spending substantially.
However, the club do know that there are several areas that need to be addressed. Milan are regarded as one of the greatest Italian clubs after having won the league title numerous times along with seven European cups. However, they have fallen into bad times over the last decade with the club winning the league title only once since the 2003-04 success.
The last of the Champions League/European success came in the 2006-07 season.”I congratulate the guys – they had good mental toughness and the second half was only played in Atalanta’s half.We had the feeling that a goal could come at any moment. We deserved more and a win would have been the icing on the cake for this year in the league, but it was also important not to lose. In the last game, we deserved something against Roma. The statistics and numbers do not tell the whole story about our last two games,” said Montella.