Rossoneri Round-up for 26 October: Milan’s Gattuso: ‘The team isn’t working’

Gennaro Gattuso had some harsh words for the team and himself after the loss to Real Betis at the San Siro.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Gattuso said:

We lost our way completely. It was a game of suffering, as we lost our confidence.

This team doesn’t play with a clear head, it can’t do what it wants to, and only shrugged off the tension in the final minutes. Betis deserved it, I won’t talk about the penalty incident, because they did dominate the game. It’s our fragility that worries me.

We aren’t playing with any kind of fluidity, can’t move the ball around. We have to talk to the players and find out what the problems are. There could even be a tactical issue.

It doesn’t even look like the same team we saw a couple of weeks ago. We must find out the right solution to improve. It’s above all a psychological problem, as we can’t seem to react. We don’t control the tempo or the game. We couldn’t create anything with the ball at our feet.

We saw practically nothing from the midfielders pushing up and too often we passed it backwards rather than forwards. The team isn’t working, I am the first to take responsibility for that. I must find the best solution for this squad.

Pretty damming critique of the team and the performance against Real Betis in the Europa League. He takes responsibility for it, but how long will Leonardo tolerate poor results? Sampdoria provides an opportunity to bounce back against a surprise team this year in Serie A, and it will be critical for the team to have a good showing.

On to the links.

AC Milan and Italian Football Links

Would the end of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United mean a return for him at Inter Milan? [Serpents of Madonnina]

Milan looked rather poor and lost to Real Betis 2-1 in the Europa League. [AC Milan Offside]

21 year-old Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is making the most of his opportunity to play. [Black & White & Read All Over]

World Football Links

A wrap-up of last week’ Liga MX Femenil in Mexico. [FMF State of Mind]

Arsenal beat Sporting Clube de Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon. [The Short Fuse]

Former Arsenal, Manchester United, and Netherlands forward Robin Van Persie announced that he is retiring at the end of this season. [BBC.com]

Where will Los Angeles Football Club end up in the standings at the end of the season? [Angels on Parade]

Villarreal beat Rapid Vienna 5-0. [Villarreal USA]