Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw

Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.

The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target – one fell to Milan and two to Juve – while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.

Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).

“When you don’t win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I’d do the same,” Fonseca told DAZN.

“I’m not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly.”

Milan’s only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.

They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.

“It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us,” Fonseca said.

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“We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.

“We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.

“The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn’t take any offensive risks.”

When asked if seventh-placed Milan – on 19 points with a game in hand – still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.

“It’s difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points,” he said.