Justin Kluivert opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Marcus Tavernier converted a second spot-kick after goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off. Amine Adli completed Bournemouth’s victory with a free-kick in the 84th minute, leaving Milan with a difficult evening in the Europa League.
Speaking on Sky Sport Italia, Capello was particularly critical of the way Milan defended the third goal, when the wall opened to allow Adli’s effort through.
“The third goal Milan conceded should never happen. The wall cannot open up. If you agree to stand in the wall, you have to be a wall, not a crack. Milan created nothing and struggled to get beyond the halfway line.”
Capello also felt that the match was an unfair setting in which to judge new striker Cisse, who struggled to hold the ball up as Milan tried to relieve pressure.
“We all wanted to see Cisse. He moved around a lot to try to help, but he couldn’t hold on to the ball. You can’t judge him on this match, though, because Milan hardly ever got into the opposition penalty area.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Capello found encouragement in the players’ willingness to keep fighting. He believes that attitude could help the team make progress in the league, even if the European performance exposed clear weaknesses.
“I see positive things in this defeat, because Milan’s players never stopped fighting. Something is growing inside Milan and, in my opinion, they can do great things in the league.”
Defender Strahinja Pavlović also acknowledged that Milan had made too many mistakes, particularly in the first half, and accepted that playing with ten men made a comeback much harder.
“The match didn’t go well. There were a lot of mistakes in the first half, and when you have one player fewer, it becomes difficult. Now we have to forget this and think about the next game,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
Pavlović said Maignan had urged his teammates to remain calm after the dismissal.
“He just said that we have to stay calm, that’s all. These things can happen.”
The defender also admitted that Milan’s defensive wall had been at fault for Adli’s free-kick.
“It was a bad mistake to see. I thought the ball was going to be higher.”
However, Pavlović insisted that one defeat should not undermine the team’s belief, pointing to the long season still ahead.
“As I said before, we have more than 50 matches ahead of us and this is only one. We have to concentrate on the next games because there are many important ones coming. We are on the right path.”
AC Milan now need to turn that confidence into a more convincing performance, with Capello’s criticism highlighting the areas that must improve and Pavlović urging his teammates not to dwell on the setback.