Massimiliano Allegri has scoffed at rumours of a dressing-room split, the Milan coach insisting there was nothing wrong with criticism by star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Milan succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday but squeezed through to the quarter-finals by virtue of a 4-0 win in the first leg three weeks earlier.
Afterwards, however, Ibrahimovic was highly critical of the performance in an interview with Swedish journalists, during which he even suggested that Allegri had got his tactics wrong.
But the coach says there was nothing to those quotes.
“Ibra always wants to win, he asks a lot of himself and of everyone else,” said Allegri.
“There are always exchanges of ideas in the changing room, absolutely nothing happened, what’s been reported has been done so badly and blown out of proportion.”
Allegri said it was important to clear things up because such rumours could upset the club’s internal harmony.
“These voices could be destabilising but there is great serenity in the changing room,” he said.
“I was the most bitter for the defeat in London. Everyone wants to win and sometimes success comes from arguments.
“There should not be any consequences from Tuesday’s game. At the end of the day we achieved our objective, which was to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.
“That was the most important thing and you have to recognise that we reacted in the second half, we didn’t lose our heads.
“The first half we played against Arsenal (in which all three goals were scored) must be a lesson that does not get repeated.”
Milan host lowly Lecce today and Allegri insists that his table-toppers cannot let up with the chase on for Champions League places.
“We’re two points above Juventus, Lazio are there, Udinese are not far behind and Napoli are coming back,” he said.
“There are many teams fighting for the Champions League. We won’t win the title by beating Lecce just like we won’t lose it if we slip up.”
When the two sides met earlier in the season, Milan turned around at the break 3-0 down but a hat-trick from Kevin-Prince Boateng masterminded a fightback that ended with a 4-3 success.
The Ghana midfielder will be missing today as he is injured this time.
It was his absence that provoked a situation in which Milan played a slightly different system against Arsenal, which Ibrahimovic criticised, claiming it left him out of position.
Boateng usually plays in the trequartista attacking midfielder position behind the front two and it remains to be seen whether Allegri will put Urby Emanuelson or Alberto Aquilani in there instead or persist with the three-man forward line he used at the Emirates.
Serie A
Played yesterday
Palermo 0
Roma 1
Borini 3;
HT: 0-1. Att: 16,451.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Milan | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 53 | 22 | 54 |
| Juventus | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 39 | 17 | 52 |
| Lazio | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 41 | 30 | 48 |
| Napoli | 27 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 50 | 28 | 46 |
| Udinese | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 37 | 23 | 46 |
| Roma | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 40 | 33 | 41 |
| Inter | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 36 | 40 |
| Catania | 26 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 34 | 35 | 35 |
| Palermo | 27 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 39 | 44 | 34 |
| Chievo | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 34 |
| Atalanta (-6) | 26 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 30 | 28 | 32 |
| Fiorentina | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 32 |
| Bologna | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 | 30 | 32 |
| Genoa | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 48 | 32 |
| Cagliari | 27 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 35 | 31 |
| Parma | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 41 | 30 |
| Siena | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 28 | 29 |
| Lecce | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 30 | 42 | 25 |
| Cesena | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 16 | 40 | 17 |
| Novara | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 46 | 17 |
Playing today – 15.00.
Atalanta vs Parma (2-1)
Catania vs Fiorentina (2-2)
Cesena vs Siena (0-2)
Genoa vs Juventus (2-2)
Lazio vs Bologna (2-0) - 20.45
Milan vs Lecce (4-3)
Novara vs Udinese (0-3) - 20.45
Note: In brackets results first round.
Top scorers
18 goals: Ibrahimovic (Milan), Di Natale (Udinese).
16 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
15 goals: Denis (Atalanta).
14 goals: Palacio (Genoa), Milito (Inter).
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Parma vs Milan. 20.45 Fiorentina vs Juventus.
Sunday: 12.30 p.m. Cagliari vs Cesena. 15.00 Bologna vs Chievo; Catania vs Lazio; Inter vs Atalanta; Lecce vs Palermo; Siena vs Novara. 20.45 Udinese vs Napoli.
Monday, March 19: 20.45 Roma vs Genoa.
Serie B
Ascoli 0 - Juve Stabia 0
Brescia 1 - Padova 2
Cittadella 1 - Pescara 2
Crotone 2 - Modena 2
Livorno 4 - AlbinoLeffe 1
Nocerina 2 - Gubbio 1
Sassuolo 0 - Sampdoria 0
Varese 0 - Empoli 1
Vicenza 0 - Grosseto 1
Playing today
Bari vs Reggina (1-3) - 12.30
Tomorrow
Torino vs Verona (3-1) - 20.45
Standings: Pescara 61; Torino 59; Sassuolo 56; Verona 54; Padova 52; Varese 48; Brescia 45; Sampdoria 44; Reggina 43; Grosseto 40; Bari, Juve Stabia 38; Cittadella 37; Livorno 34; Modena 33; Crotone 30; Vicenza 29; Empoli 28; Gubbio 26; Ascoli, AlbinoLeffe 25; Nocerina 22.