AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli has
blamed his side's away-day blues for their 2-1 defeat at
Fiorentina on Saturday, rejecting talk that next week's visit to
Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League may have been a
distraction.
The loss means the reigning Serie A champions missed the chance
to go second and remain fourth with 47 points from 25 games, 18
points behind leaders Napoli.
Fifth-placed AS Roma can leapfrog Milan in the standings by
beating seventh-placed Juventus at home later on Sunday.
"No, no, no, absolutely not," said Pioli after goals by Nicolas
Gonzalez and Luka Jovic gave the hosts the win, with Theo
Hernandez grabbing a consolation goal for Milan in stoppage
time.
"Fiorentina played better than us, but not because we were
thinking of Tottenham".
When asked about Milan's poor away form, he said: "its true,
this is something that costs us a lot and it's strange.
"We must do better because we have the quality to do so.
"We ran a lot, but not well".
Milan, who had won their last four games in all competitions,
visit Tottenham in London on Wednesday in the return of their
last-16 tie, defending a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.
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