Conceicao: Milan’s Coppa Campioni exit a ‘failure’ but Theo not ‘responsible’, I am

epa11905993 AC Milan’s head coach Sergio Conceicao gives instructions during the UEFA Coppa Campioni knockout phase play-offs 2st leg match between AC Milan and Feyenoord at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, 18 February 2025. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

Milan coach Sergio Conceiçao claimed that their Coppa Campioni exit at the hands of Feyenoord is ‘definitely a failure’, but he insisted he is ‘responsible’ for his side’s struggles and not Theo Hernandez.

The France international needed to overturn their first-leg 1-0 defeat in Rotterdam and hit the road running tonight, with Santiago Gimenez scoring against his former side less than 60 seconds into the game.

However, Szymon Marciniak punished Theo Hernandez’s alleged dive after the break with a second yellow card. While the coach believes the referee’s decision ‘changed everything,’ he lamented that his side needed to be ‘mentally stronger’ in a match they had been dominating until that moment.

Conceiçao: Milan are angry and disappointed, ‘not the best’ atmosphere here

“It’s definitely a failure; we wanted to reach the Round of 16,” Conceiçao said at a post-match press conference.

“This match showed that we are stronger than our opponent and that decisive moments made the difference, just like in Zagreb: a red card there, a red card today.

“You could say the referee was too harsh, but we needed to be mentally stronger. I am responsible, not Theo. We’ll discuss it in the locker room. Theo has given a lot to Milan, and I’ve made many mistakes in my career.

“We are angry. Until Theo’s red card, Feyenoord didn’t know how to get to our goal. We are disappointed and angry.”

This was Conceiçao’s third defeat in his two and a half months at the helm, but the Portuguese manager suggested the ‘atmosphere’ he found at Milan is not making his job any easier.

“I arrived a month and a half ago, yet I’m being compared to coaches who were here for years,” Conceiçao added.

“We haven’t been able to work with the full squad; we train with only a few players who do different things. We won the only trophy we could win, we are in the Coppa Italia semifinals, and in the league, since I arrived, we’ve earned 14 points while Napoli has 15. It’s not perfect.

“The atmosphere here at Milan is not the best, and the red card proves it—we need to work on this. Believe me, it’s not easy, it’s not easy.

“Once again, we showed today that we could avoid conceding shots on goal while creating chances. Then Theo’s red card changed everything. And that leaves us really angry and disappointed.

“You know better than I do that we need to change the environment. I’m not talking about the fans. To change the environment, we have to win.

“Now we have the next match in Turin: we need to win that one, then the next, and the one after that. And focus on the Coppa Italia.”