Time to 'shut up and work' for Pioli's Milan
Milan's bid to retain its Serie A title received another big blow after it was hammered 4-0 by Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday.
The Rossoneri lost for the first time in seven league matches with goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni giving Maurizio Sarri's side the advantage heading into the break.
Luis Alberto then added a third with a well-taken penalty before Felipe Anderson rounded off the scoring as Milan failed to win for a fifth straight game in all competitions.
With Pioli's men remaining 12 points behind Napoli, the Milan head coach believes it is time for less talk and more action from the reigning champion.
"Right now there are many things that are not working, mental and tactical aspects," Pioli said. "I'm here to talk because I have to, we should shut up and work. I too will try to talk less and work more.
"We have to get back to Milanello [Milan's training ground] quickly to work and work well, we're not playing according to our possibilities.
"Things aren't going well for us, that's for sure. In 20 days we haven't brought home any good performances or results."
With Milan now having conceded eight goals in its past three league matches, as many as in its nine previous Serie A games, Pioli knows his team will have to find a defensive fix, and quick, if it is to somehow claw back Napoli and retain the title.
"The problem right now isn't too much with the ball," Pioli said. "But without the ball there's no cover and we leave too many spaces.
"We just have to work. The team needs to be more compact, attentive and collaborative. Continuing to make these mistakes means creating even more difficulties in the match.
"We have to go back to playing as we know how and do it as soon as possible. In the last two weeks the performances have not been what we expected and could have done."
Milan's search for a return to form could soon be boosted by the return of veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has missed all of this season with a knee injury but posted a video earlier on Tuesday of him kicking a ball at the club's training ground.
Pioli refused to point to Ibrahimovic's long absence for his team's shortcomings this season, adding: "It's too easy now [to blame Ibrahimovic's injury]. We don't want to have any excuses or justifications.
"I realise that it's a delicate moment for the boys. They will have my support. They will certainly want to be competitive again soon."
