Milan lost 1-0 to modest guest Udinese at San Siro in the Serie A on Saturday, marking the fourth consecutive match without a win for coach Stefano Pioli's team across all competitions, leaving the team six points behind the top spot. Roberto Pereira scored the winning goal for Udinese from a penalty in the 62nd minute after Milan dominated the first half without taking advantage of the chances they created.
Pioli's team, which is set to host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next Tuesday, previously lost 1-0 at home to Juventus and drew 2-2 with defending champions Napoli in their last two league matches, along with a 3-0 defeat in Paris.
Milan’s latest defeat leaves them in third place with 22 points from 11 matches, trailing Inter Milan, who defeated Atalanta 2-1, by six points. They are just one point above second-placed Juventus, who face Fiorentina today, Sunday. Udinese, who beat Milan 3-1 in their last encounter in March, has now won two consecutive league matches against Milan for the first time since 2017.
Pioli told DAZN: "Clearly, we didn't perform well in the match, and moving forward (like this) has become increasingly difficult. We had some good opportunities in the first half, but this was the worst match recently in general. We struggled to find space and conceded a penalty that contributed to the opponent's win."
“The defeat is painful, there is disappointment, but we have a lot of determination to prepare for the next match in the Champions League against a very strong team that can be beaten.”
Captain Davide Calabria came close to opening the scoring after 25 minutes, but his long-range shot was saved by Marco Silvestre, who was again involved 10 minutes later by blocking a shot from Yunus Musah. Pereira scored from the penalty spot after a foul on Udinese winger Festy Ebosele. Milan's goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved a header from Nigerian Isaac Success following a corner.
Milan intensified their pressure towards the end of the match, but hero Silvestre ensured a clean sheet. The 32-year-old goalkeeper made another brilliant save in the 90th minute, denying Olivier Giroud before leaping to stop a powerful shot from Alessandro Florenzi in stoppage time.
Milan, who failed to score in two consecutive home league matches for the first time since January 2020, suffered consecutive defeats at San Siro for the first time since September 2019. Udinese, who secured their first league win of the season, is in 16th place with ten points, three points clear of the relegation zone.
