Spanish defender Mario Gila has expressed his disappointment after Milan conceded shortly after he was substituted in their match against Juventus, allowing an apparently certain victory to slip away.
Gila left the pitch in the 88th minute, but his side were unable to hold on soon afterwards. Juventus found a late goal, turning what had looked set to be a winning result for Milan into a frustrating conclusion.
The timing of the concession particularly upset Gila because he says a similar situation has already happened to him once before. The defender acknowledged that conceding after his departure was difficult to accept, especially given how little time remained in the match.
“It’s frustrating - we concede when I leave the pitch,” Gila said.
His comments focused on the sequence of events rather than on assigning blame. The Spanish centre-back was withdrawn with Milan seemingly on course to secure the result, only for the late goal to change the outcome after he had gone off.
For Gila, the incident was made more frustrating by the fact that it was not an isolated occurrence. He said this was the second time that his team had conceded after he left the field, creating a repeated and unwelcome pattern for the defender.
The result means Milan will now turn their attention to the next round of the Italian championship, when they face Lazio. That fixture carries an added personal connection for Gila, who will come up against his former club.
Lazio are based in Rome and were Gila’s previous team before his move to Milan. The meeting will therefore give the defender an immediate opportunity to respond after the disappointment against Juventus, although the main focus of his reaction remains the late goal that denied his current side what appeared to be a secure victory.
The match against Lazio is the next scheduled fixture mentioned after the Juventus game. For Gila, it will be a return to familiar opposition and a chance to move on from an incident that he believes has now occurred twice.
Milan’s failure to protect their lead late in the Juventus match left the Spanish defender particularly unhappy because he had been on the field until the closing stages. His substitution came at the 88-minute mark, and the concession followed soon afterwards.
That narrow sequence has become the central talking point from the match for Gila. Rather than celebrating a win that had seemed within reach, he was left reflecting on the timing of the goal and the fact that it arrived after his withdrawal.
The defender’s frustration now forms part of the build-up to Milan’s meeting with Lazio, his former club, in the next round of the Italian championship.