A mental collapse at San Siro
The atmosphere at San Siro turned toxic on Thursday evening as Milan slumped to a disheartening defeat against Hungarian side Ferencvaros. Despite entering the fixture with momentum from recent domestic successes, the Rossoneri appeared a shadow of their usual selves, prompting a scathing review from within the dressing room. Bartesaghi, who was given the nod to feature in the European clash, did not hold back when analyzing why the Italian giants failed to show up on the big stage.
"The data speaks for itself, it is a mental problem," Bartesaghi told Milan News during a raw post-match interview in the mixed zone. The young full-back expressed his disbelief at how the team approached such a pivotal continental fixture. "I believe you cannot enter the pitch with this attitude. We must ask ourselves questions about this and give ourselves answers. From tomorrow we will do so and try to ensure that this thing does not happen again."
Questions of preparation and respect
Many onlookers questioned whether Ruben Amorim's side had underestimated their opponents, but Bartesaghi dismissed the idea that complacency was the primary driver of the result. However, he admitted that the lack of early intensity was the worst he had seen this season. The inability to match the energy of the visitors proved fatal as Milan failed to establish any rhythm or dominance during the ninety minutes at the San Siro.
"I don't think we underestimated it because if we thought that, it would be a very, very negative thing," the defender explained. He noted that while the team has struggled with slow starts previously, this particular performance reached a new low point. "The problem is that sometimes we are unable to enter the field with that right attitude from the beginning because this year it wasn't the first time: I believe that tonight was the worst. As I said before, we must do everything to ensure that this does not happen again," he added.
Undoing a week of progress
The timing of the defeat is particularly painful for the Rossoneri, who seemed to have turned a corner following a victory in the Milan derby. The positive vibes generated by that result have been swiftly extinguished by this European setback. Bartesaghi noted that the training sessions leading up to the game had been productive, making the subsequent collapse on the pitch even more difficult for the coaching staff and players to digest.
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Speaking to other media outlets, the youngster lamented how a single night of poor effort had erased days of hard work at Milanello. "The truth is, we needed to talk to ourselves. The performance is beyond comment. We went onto the pitch without a good attitude. We ruined what had been a good week. We need to roll up our sleeves starting tomorrow and get to work," he told Sky Sport Italia.
Facing the harsh reality
As Milan look to pick up the pieces, the focus shifts to a grueling away trip in the next round of the competition. Bartesaghi emphasized that the team cannot afford to wait for a "slap in the face" before they start playing with the required urgency. He highlighted that the lack of grit and the failure to win second balls were the deciding factors that allowed Ferencvaros to capitalize on Milanese errors throughout the evening.
“We knew everything, even about the opponents. We are training well during the week, especially after the derby we had the right enthusiasm. The alarm went off later, on the pitch. We lacked attitude right from the start. In the second half, we tried to recover as much as we could, but we weren't able to. We needed to react immediately and not wait to be slapped," Bartesaghi concluded.