Malick Thiaw exclusive: Defender demands AC Milan 'do better' next term - 'It was not a good season'

AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw has demanded his side "do better” next season after Inter stormed to the Serie A title, almost 20 points ahead of the second-placed Rossoneri.

Despite coming second in the league, it was the second year in a row that Milan were knocked out of European competition by an Italian side, and a massively crushing 5-1 loss to rivals Inter at the outset of the season last September was a particularly low point.

That pain was worsened in April when Inter beat Milan 2-1 to clinch the league.

“We finished second. But of course, the losses against Inter and Roma were really hard for us," Thiaw, who joined from Schalke in 2022, told Eurosport Italy. 

A second star will now be woven into the Inter’s shirts above the club’s crest, each one denoting 10 Serie A titles, leaving the Nerazzurri with 20, one better than their city rivals. Head coach Stefano Pioli is also expected to leave the club imminently.

“And for a big club like Milan, we expect more from us. So we definitely have to do better next season," he added.

Milan close out the season this Saturday against Salernitana, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The German featured 30 times for Milan across all competitions this season, including playing all 90 minutes in the club's 2-1 win over PSG in the UEFA Champions League in November.

The club came third in the group, with eventual finalists Dortmund clinching the second spot behind the Parisians, and Milan dropped into the UEFA Europa League.

Milan’s Europa League journey came to an end at the hands of Roma in April, losing 3-1 on aggregate, and serves as the point at which the season had truly soured for the Milano fanbase. 

Thiaw agreed that the Europa League exit changed the club’s trajectory heading into the business end of the season.

“With the games and with a lot of injuries and of course the game against Roma, I think after this game everybody judged us, that it was not a good season,” the 22-year-old said.

“Of course, we can understand it was not a good season. We expected more from us, we wanted to win the Europa League.”

Thiaw name dropped AS Roma’s Romelu Lukaku, alongside Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, as two of the toughest players he’s had to defend against this season.

Milan’s attack was firing, scoring 73 goals in the league,  bettered only by Inter. But a dire defence was their Achilles’ heel. They conceded 46 Serie A goals, and of the top 10 teams in the league, only 10th-placed Napoli let in more.

Milan’s defence is bred from a fine pedigree, with the club eulogising the likes of Franco Baresi, Allesandro Costacurta, and the legendary Paolo Maldini. Stepping into those shoes will always be hard. 

Even at his young age, Thiaw is aware of the effect that Maldini’s status has.

“Of course, when I grew up I was a bit young, so I couldn't see Paolo Maldini. But my dad, he told me [about Maldini].

“I had the pleasure to meet him when I came to Milan and spoke with him. So yeah, I think he is for sure the player I look up to.”

Thiaw made his three caps for Germany throughout 2023 after impressing previous manager Hansi Flick. The defender was also part of the Germany Under-21 squad to lift the European Under-21 Championship in 2021.

While the promising young player isn't included in Julian Nagelsmann's provisional squad for the European Championships, he's excited to witness the prestigious tournament in his home country, where Thiaw's hometown of Dusseldorf will host a number of matches including a quarter-final.

"I think it is a dream for every boy to have the tournament in his own country in front of his friends and family," he said.

"We have to look for the present now, we don't care about the past. Of course, we know that we have to do better. But I think we are in a good way."

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