Ibrahimovic: Milan stopped playing, stopped believing and stopped pressing

Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw Milan “stop playing, stop believing, stop pressing” as they fumbled a 2-0 lead to lose the derby. “I expected more from Inter.”

The Swede had been decisive in the first half, setting up Ante Rebic and then scoring the second goal himself, but Marcelo Brozovic, Matias Vecino, Stefan de Vrij and Romelu Lukaku turned it around for 4-2.

“It’s difficult to explain what happened,” Ibra told Sky Sport Italia.

“At half-time we told ourselves, the first 15 minutes going back out there will be crucial, and in that 15-minute spell we conceded two goals.

“We stopped playing, the team stopped believing, we stopped pressing, didn’t pass it around enough. From the equaliser onwards, everything collapsed.

“I think a lot of it is down to experience, because you must know how to control a game at 2-0 up, not just winning at the end.

“It’s strange, because our first half was practically perfect. I expected more from Inter and the first half performance did not look like a team worthy of second place. They did after the break.”