AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli was relieved after their Coppa Italia victory over Genoa.

Leo Ostigard put Genoa ahead, but Olivier Giroud forced extra time with a looping header.

Rafael Leao then scored with a misplaced cross and Alexis Saelemaekers sealed the 3-1 win.

“Evidently I didn’t do a good job, because we had the wrong approach from the start. We didn’t have the right determination and that is my fault, because we lacked intensity, tempo and made the situation more complicated for ourselves,” Pioli told Sport Mediaset.

“We wanted to get through and managed to get it back on track, so it’s important we won the game, but we’ll have to work better in future.”

Pioli was asked about Theo Hernandez’s two assists on the night.

“I think we put in some interesting balls from the right too. Naturally, on the left we have different characteristics and players who are good at one-on-one situations, whereas it’s more about the movement on the right to create the space.

“I do think the team is balanced, but the problem today was the entire team had the wrong approach and lacked intensity. That means my preparation was not optimal and I have to do better.”

Pioli also explained Fikayo Tomori’s substitution.

“He felt a twinge in his knee, so couldn’t carry on. Fik is a very important player for us and I hope it’s nothing serious, it’d be good if we had him available from Monday.”

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