Fabregas: ‘Credit to Milan, but what can you say after Como performance?’

Cesc Fabregas insists Milan ‘deserve credit’ for their victory against the run of play, but couldn’t face his Como players. ‘What can you say to lads who played like this and lost 3-1?’

It had been the perfect start at the Stadio Sinigaglia when Marc-Oliver Kempf nodded in a corner after 10 minutes, but Mike Maignan made a series of stunning saves to keep the Rossoneri in it.

Those proved decisive, as Christopher Nkunku converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, then Adrien Rabiot’s brace turned it around after the restart, even though the goals were against the run of play.

“We lost and therefore we need to improve,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.

“We’ve got to try to do better next time and to win the game. We had one of the best defensive records in Europe before this game, every team has strengths and weaknesses. We can improve, but nobody is perfect.

“We congratulate Milan this evening, they won and therefore they’ve got the right to celebrate. I now have to focus on lifting the heads of my lads, whether we win or lose, we must always try to grow and improve.”

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This was the first home defeat of the season for Fabregas and Como, and it means they are without a win in two rounds, having scraped a last-gasp 1-1 draw with Bologna at the weekend.

The statistics this evening showed Como were stronger in every metric, including possession, passes completed, shots on goal, and even the xG, yet they lost 3-1.

“We have to work on mentality, as this is a young team. Usually I speak to the players right after the final whistle, but I couldn’t do it today,” revealed Fabregas with a bitter laugh.

“What can you say to lads who played like this and lost 3-1? It doesn’t happen often, Milan deserve credit for the game they played, bravo Maignan and Rabiot, sometimes you have to just tip your hat and say the individuals won it.

“We had studied Milan and knew a few areas where they could hurt us, and they did it on one of the situations we’d discussed. It hurts, obviously, but defeats help you to grow and we have real margin for improvement.”

Fabregas had said in his press conference yesterday that facing Max Allegri with all his experience was like a Serie B coach taking on a Champions League boss, but surely this performance proved he deserves more?

“No, it ended 3-1, so you have to look at the result, that’s what they like in Italy,” he smiled.