Rabiot criticises Milan’s collapse despite Atalanta win

Adrien Rabiot described himself as angry after Milan surrendered a three-goal lead before beating Atalanta 3-2 in Serie A.

Milan appeared to be in complete control after moving 3-0 ahead, but their performance deteriorated in the second half and Atalanta scored twice to set up a tense finish. The result ended Milan’s run of four matches without a win against Atalanta at San Siro, a sequence that had included one draw and three defeats.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport, France international Rabiot said: “We played excellently in the first half. Then we lost control of the match in the second half.”

He added: “That is a problem. If we play such a poor second half, the first half becomes worthless.”

“I am angry. We cannot collapse like that,” Rabiot continued. “Perhaps we did not deserve to win in the end. We need more from the players who came on in the second half.”

Despite his criticism of the team’s display, Rabiot was one of Milan’s outstanding performers. He scored one goal, set up another and was named player of the match.

The midfielder has now contributed to the scoring in three consecutive matches for Milan. Since the start of the season, he has scored four goals and provided three assists in seven rounds of Serie A.

The victory also extended Ruben Amorim’s unbeaten start as Milan manager. He became the third manager in the club’s history not to lose any of his first seven Serie A matches, following Hector Purcelli in 1955 and Lucas Carniella in 1963.

Milan’s win moved them on to 15 points and fourth place in the table, four points behind leaders Inter.

Atalanta suffered their fourth defeat of the season and remain on nine points in 10th place.

Milan will travel to face Udinese in their next league match, while Atalanta will play Frosinone.