Massimiliano Allegri fumed at his AC Milan players after the same mistakes from their draw with Genoa arose again in their 1-1 stalemate against Fiorentina.
Christopher Nkunku's late leveller sealed a share of the spoils at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday, after Pietro Comuzzo had given Fiorentina the lead midway through the second half.
Milan have opened the new year with back-to-back draws, leaving them second in Serie A, but offering the chance for their Scudetto rivals around them to take advantage.
Leaders Inter face defending champions Napoli later on Sunday, and should Antonio Conte's side win, they will move above Milan by a point and also have a game in hand.
It is only the second time Milan have drawn consecutive league games this season, though Allegri conceded similar errors that cost them in their previous game were on show once more against Fiorentina.
"We had a good first half, and chances to score that we didn't convert. Then, after the break, Fiorentina had more of the ball," he told DAZN Italia.
"After going a goal down, we had patience to get the ball into the final third, but after equalising, we made the same mistakes we did against Genoa.
"There were still seven minutes to go and with that much time, you cannot lose the ball cheaply, you've got to play it better near the penalty area. The lads know this."
There were positives for Milan, though. They have now not lost more than one match after 19 games in a single Serie A campaign (W11 D7) for only the fourth time in the three-points-per-win era, after 1995-96, 2003-04 and 2004-05.
The Rossoneri are also unbeaten in their last 18 league games, last managing a longer such run between January and May 2004 when Carlo Ancelotti was at the helm (19).
Allegri chose to make six changes to the side that beat Genoa, with the likes of Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot, Rafael Leao and Youssouf Fofana all named on the bench.
"I think we did a bit better after the changes, and we needed to be more focused on the set play, as these are situations that can transform a game," the head coach added.
"The team used up a lot of energy in the first half. [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek, [Ardon] Jashari, [Samuele] Ricci and [Pervis] Estupinan did well. We needed to rest some players who have been regulars this season.
"It takes patience, because we want to reach the end of May in the top four, and that is not easy. Nkunku does well as a centre-forward.
"[Rafael] Leao wasn't in good physical shape today, we are working to get everyone recovered, and I'm pleased."
And while Milan dropped points for the eighth time this season, Allegri remained optimistic of finishing in the top four and potentially challenging for the Serie A title.
"We have to focus on ourselves and getting back to winning ways, because we drew the last two, there are still 34–36 points to go for a Champions League spot," he continued.
"Let's not lose sight of reality, we started with 50% of the squad changed, we're doing well and must try to improve."
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