AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with his team's performance in last night's 2-1 defeat of Benfica.

"It was a good game and we played some excellent football. It's a shame about conceding the late goal, as the match was over and if we had paid a little bit more attention we would have avoided it," said Ancelotti.

"At the moment we have two Trequartisti who can cause real problems to opponents. A lot of the time other sides can stay very close together and try to close down spaces, so giving them freedom to roam can create width.

"Andrea Pirlo scored a goal, made an assist and spread the play very well. Considering his characteristics, Pirlo is irreplaceable at the moment."

The first goal was an Andrea Pirlo trademark free kick, while in the second he chipped up the ball for Pippo Inzaghi's volley.

"It was an excellent team move and the key really was Seedorf's run down the left flank, as that opened up space for Kaka and Pirlo," noted Ancelotti, but he was not entirely satisfied.

"We were not aggressive enough in closing down our opponents and Benfica hit the post in the first half. We need to be stronger in the tackle.

"We wanted to play this game a certain way and achieved that. The team is in good shape."