AC Milan manager Vincenzo Montella was open about disputing Carlos Bacca’s goal after the rossoneri held onto a hard-fought 1-0 win over Eusebio di Francesco’s Sassuolo on Sunday at the Mapei Stadium.

 

It was Bacca’s penalty that was the difference in a game that saw Andrea Bertolacci, Juraj Kucka and Jose Sosa start in the midfield for Montella’s men.

 

The Colombian forward, who was making a comeback into the side after having missed two games on the trot, slipped while putting away the spot-kick, as the ball came off his second leg before heading into the back of the net.

 

Montella argued that although the goal should not have stood, but the referee’s decision to hand Milan the all-important advantage in the 22nd minute must be respected. 

 

The Italian said: "It is easy to talk afterwards," Montella told Premium Sport. "Bacca touched the ball twice and in accordance with the rules it should have been an indirect free-kick for Sassuolo, but the penalty would have been retaken because there was a Sassuolo player in the area. Everyone has their own interpretation." 
 

Di Francesco accused the match-official for showing ‘inadequate rigour’ during the game and declared that there were too many other decisions that didn’t go Sassuolo’s way, although he admitted that his side weren’t up to the mark against Montella’s men.

His opposite number played down the fact that decisions went Milan’s way and lauded the focus that his side mustered after going a goal up. He said: "Surely we are in credit [with decisions] against Sassuolo, but we don't only play against Sassuolo."


 

"I wonder how they manage to spend time watching all of our matches, game after game. You have to live with more serenity. I have this approach even when I suffer wrong's and I assure you that it is most of the time. The respect of the referees must not fail. This was a great victory against an opponent that has historically put us in difficulty at their ground. The game involved a lot of mental focus." 
 

The solid win kept Milan in seventh, but the gap between eighth-placed Fiorentina and the rossoneri could come down to just four points, if La Viola win their home game against Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Torino Monday evening.
 

Milan are currently one point adrift of sixth placed Inter, who suffered a disappointing 3-1 loss at the hands of Roma and are only four points behind fourth-placed Atalanta, who managed to pick up all three points in an impressive 2-0 triumph over Napoli, thanks to a Mattia Caldara brace. 



Kaustubh Pandey