Milan manager Stefano Pioli rued his side's poor play in Wednesday's 3-0 loss against Chelsea, saying the kind of mistakes made by his team "cannot be committed in the Champions League".
The scoring was opened by Chelsea's big-money signing in the middle of defence, with Wesley Fofana scrapping home a loose ball in the box following a corner in the 24th minute.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James then put the game to bed in the second half with goals in the 56th and 61st minutes respectively, and they were able to restrict the visiting Italians to one shot on target for the entire game.
Pioli lamented his side's mistakes, saying teams in the Champions League will always punish you.
"Errors? It is true that they cannot be committed in the Champions League," he told reporters. "We forced choices that weren't forced. We have lost our distance. It is a pity because, beyond their qualities, we could have done something more.
"It has nothing to do with little experience, it has nothing to do with those who were not there. We had to be more lucid, in ball recovery and aggression, we had to do better.
"The second goal changed our attitude, our mentality. We weren't able to stay as a team as we usually do. At these levels you pay dearly for these things."
He added on Sky Sports: "We had to do better. It's clear that when you make so many technical mistakes you allow opponents to put you in difficulty.
"I think the team was ready to play this type of match. There were spaces to be more precise and we gave too much field to the opponents.
"Defeats must help us grow. The locker room was rightly disappointed and angry, but this will give us great motivation and drive."
This result leaves Chelsea and Milan both on four points in Group E, trailing undefeated Salzburg (one win, two draws).
The defeat marked the sixth time in the competition that Milan have lost by three goals or more and the first time since March 2014 against Atletico Madrid.
Ethan Pinnock signs new four-year contract at Brentford
Ethan Pinnock has signed a new four-year contract at Brentford.
The defender, who turns 30 on Monday, will now stay with the Bees until the summer of 2027.
Pinnock joined Brentford from Barnsley in 2019 and has made 153 appearances for the club.
Bees boss Thomas Frank told the club’s official website: “This is great news for Brentford and I am incredibly pleased that we have Ethan with us for four more years, I am sure our fans are delighted.
“Ethan has been a mountain in defence for us for the last four years. He played a key role in our journey to the top half of the Premier League. He is a top, top player and a great person.
“He has stepped seamlessly in the Premier League and it is an amazing story for him, and for football, that he can progress from non-league to the top of the game so quickly.
“He has proven himself to be a typical Brentford signing, he meets every challenge he faces and we think there is still more development for him.
“Ethan has been so reliable and consistent for us and I am sure that will continue. He will be spending the prime years of his career with us and we look forward to him helping the team be successful in the coming seasons.”
Luton’s Tom Lockyer thanks medical staff for ‘swift response’ after collapse
Luton captain Tom Lockyer has thanked medical staff for their “swift and thorough response” after collapsing during his side’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final victory against Coventry.
The defender fell to the floor while running back during the match and received treatment before being carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
The game went to penalties after Jordan Clark’s opener was cancelled out by Gustavo Hamer to finish 1-1 after extra time, and the Hatters secured Premier League football for next season with a 6-5 victory on penalties.
Luton players held up Lockyer’s shirt throughout their celebrations and the captain posted an update on Instagram.
He said: “Well not quite where I thought I’d be celebrating at the final whistle!
View this post on Instagram“I would just like to say a massive thank you to the amazing physios and doctors at Luton and Wembley for the swift and thorough response.
“A much scarier moment for everyone else than myself I am sure!
“Commiserations to Coventry a fantastic opponent over 3 games which had to be decided by penalties.
“I am currently in hospital under precaution and will stay here overnight for further tests in the morning.
“I am feeling very much myself, helped by the way the lads left it all out on pitch! It’s such an honour to be part of this team.. Premier League baby.”
A thrilling finale at Wembley saw victory secure a return to the top flight for Luton for the first time since 1992.
It is a remarkable turnaround given just nine years ago the Hatters ended a five-season stretch in the fifth tier, but manager Rob Edwards admitted emotions were “mixed” afterwards following Lockyer’s collapse.
“I felt a bit numb. I just made sure I shook Mark’s hand and his staff,” Edwards said.
“I don’t want to be that guy that just starts running off and celebrating before I’ve seen the other manager.
“I just felt very numb. I still do. It hasn’t sunk in quite yet. It might take a few days, but it’s great. It does feel good.
“It was mixed because of Locks (Lockyer), that’s why I couldn’t really go for it celebrating.”
Michael Beale is looking for players to step up and become leaders for Rangers
Michael Beale is looking for players to “step up into leadership roles” next season following the departure of Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and others.
Veteran goalkeeper McGregor, 41, and 34-year-old midfielder Arfield, along with Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Filip Helander, have played their last games for the Ibrox club with their contracts expiring this summer.
Robby McCrorie took over in goal from McGregor for the trip to St Mirren on Saturday where Arfield came on as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 cinch Premiership win thanks to a double from Fashion Sakala and close-range effort from substitute Antonio Colak.
Beale will revamp his squad to challenge champions Celtic next season and told RangersTV that he is now looking for new leaders.
He said: “Robby has come in and we’ve seen no change in terms of him coming in as a young goalkeeper taking over from someone like Allan, who has been a stalwart for many years.
“I want to mention him and Scott because we’re losing a lot of experience and standards, so I’m expecting one or two others to step up now.
“That’s the message to the group, those two players have been there and seen it at this club, played in the Premier League, and we’re going to need one or two others to step up into those leadership roles.”
St Mirren achieved their highest league finish since 1985 – sixth – albeit they failed to win any of their last seven fixtures with five defeats and two draws, which meant a potential European place was ultimately out of their reach.
Manager Stephen Robinson, however, put a tough end to the season for the Buddies into context.
The Northern Irishman said: “Maybe people only remember the last few games but I want people to remember just how close we took Hearts – (2-2) a club much bigger than ours – and how close we took Celtic in every game we played them.
“We have fallen short for Europe but that’s understandable. It’s a building block, and I think the fans appreciated that.
“My job is to run the football club prudently to make sure we don’t get into the debts we had previously but also try to build a successful squad.
“That is the challenge and it’s one we are right up for and I will get plenty of support.”
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