Costacurta: Milan showed ‘effort without quality’ against Feyenoord | OneFootball

Former Italy and Milan star Alessandro Costacurta believes it was ‘surprising’ to see how the Rossoneri’s performance against Feyenoord in the Champions League lacked ‘quality’, as he acknowledged Sergio Conceição’s men put in the ‘effort’, but failed to capitalise on their technical ability.

The Diavolo stumbled to a 1-0 defeat in Rotterdam, as the Portuguese manager’s decision to field all four of Milan’s attacking stars simultaneously did not pay off in the end.

epa11891748 Antoni Milambo of Feyenoord (L) guards Santiago Gimenez of AC Milan (C-R) during the UEFA Champions League playoff first leg soccer match between Feyenoord and AC Milan, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 12 February 2025. EPA-EFE/OLAF KRAAK

While the former centre-back concedes that it is ‘understandable’ to see a lack of cohesion after the sudden inclusion of new signings, he insists that the kind of players at Conceição’s disposal should allow for better football ‘in terms of quality’.

Costacurta: Milan have more quality than Juventus, but they didn’t show it at Feyenoord

“In my opinion, they put in the effort, but the problem is that there was no quality,” Costacurta told Sky Sport Italia after Wednesday’s fixture.

“But while Juventus, and this is just my opinion, don’t have a great deal of quality in terms of creating play, I believe that Milan do. However, they didn’t show it.

“There was effort without quality, and that’s surprising because usually, with a certain type of players, the results should be better in terms of quality.”

The case has been made that Milan may lose balance with new signings Santiago Gimenez and Joao Felix playing alongside Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic, but Costacurta claims this is a ‘plausible’ choice as long as the Rossoneri’s attacking players accept to ‘track back’.

“When you make a certain choice, like when you play two players who have just arrived, in a formation you’ve never tried, it’s understandable that there might be a lack of cohesion between the parts,” the former defender continued.

epa11891645 Joao Felix of AC Milan (foreground) in action against Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther during the UEFA Champions League playoff first leg soccer match between Feyenoord and AC Milan, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 12 February 2025. EPA-EFE/SEM VAN DER WAL

“But it was a plausible bet to play all four stars together. However, we had also pointed out how they could struggle, and indeed, they suffered a lot.

“Because, as Boban used to say, either you always have the ball, or if you rely on counterattacks, your two wide attackers have to track back.”