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AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli said Zlatan Ibrahimovic apologized after being sent off during his team’s 2-1 loss to Internazionale in a fiery derby on Tuesday.
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Ibrahimovic gave his team the lead in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals, punching from the post, before spirits faded at San Siro.
Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, who played together at Manchester United, closed their heads and exchanged words late in the first half, before the pair had to be restrained when the players left the field for halftime.
The referee warned both before giving Ibrahimovic another yellow card and a red card in the second half for a foul on Aleksandar Kolarov, the first time the Swede has been sent off in Europe since he was sent off while playing for Paris Saint-Germain in Chelsea in March. 2015.
“He [Ibrahimovic] he apologized like the great champion that he is, “said Pioli.” He got a bit caught up in wanting to help the team.
“It was not easy to stay in the game with one less man. The pressure from Inter was strong.”
Inter came back to win the match, with a penalty from Lukaku and a goal from Christian Eriksen in the 97th minute that sent Antonio Conte’s team to the semi-finals.
“We paid for the effort in the last half hour and we couldn’t bring home a positive result,” added Pioli. “It shouldn’t have happened, but it did.
“We are very sorry because we had prepared well for the game.”
Inter will face the winner of the Juventus-SPAL quarter-final clash on Wednesday thanks to Eriksen’s late intervention from the bench, although Lukaku will miss the first leg of the semifinal due to accumulation of yellow cards.
It was the Dane’s first goal in a frustrating season. Eriksen has started just four league games this season and has been linked to a return to England as a result of his struggles in Italy since joining Inter last January.
However, Conte said that Eriksen will not be going anywhere during this winter transfer window.
“I’ve been repeating for a month that no one will come and no one will leave,” Conte told reporters.
“With Christian we are working tactically to find an alternative to Marcelo Brozovic, because we have no other playmaker on the squad.
“He [Eriksen] He is a very intelligent player, he has quality and is part of the project. I’m happy that he scored that goal today. “
