Milan Locked At The Bottom Of The Standings With 1 Point, Olivier Giroud: It's Really Tough Against A Team That Is Used To Playing In The Champions League

Olivier Giroud (Instagram @acmilan)

JAKARTA - Olivier Giroud admits AC Milan is still not used to playing in the Champions League again and the experience factor is often the difference in Europe's number one competition.

Milan was only able to draw 1-1 at home to Porto in the Group B match at the San Siro, Wednesday local time.

It was Milan's first point in the Champions League this season, even in the eight years since the last draw in the group stage of the same competition.

"It's really tough against a team that is used to playing in the Champions League like Porto or Atletico (Madrid). Experience is important," Giroud said after the match to Canal+, reported by Antara.

Proud of you, always Siamo semper con voi #MilanPorto #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/FQSTvkCLPK

— AC Milan (@acmilan) November 3, 2021

"We are a young team, I don't mean to make excuses. We also need a bit of luck because we actually had some good performances in this group," he said.

Despite playing in front of their own fans, Milan went into the game under pressure from Porto and their goal was already scored by Luis Diaz with less than six minutes of play.

Milan looked better in the second half and could reply through Pierre Kalulu's shot which led to an own goal by Porto defender Chancel Mbemba.

The Rossoneri were further confident and almost turned things around in the 83rd minute had Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal not disallowed because Theo Hernandez had already been offside.

"We played better in the second half, moved better and the opponent didn't press as much, but we should have had more possession of the ball," said Milan head coach Stefano Pioli.

"The team is in good condition. We really want to lock the first Champions League win, especially in front of our own supporters," he continued.

One point is not enough to lift Milan's position as caretaker of the Group B standings and their chances of reaching the round of 16 are quite heavy. Pioli's men must win the remaining two games against Atletico and Liverpool.