AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli admits Europe is becoming a factor for his players after their 2-2 draw with Verona.

Pioli says his players are becoming fatigued due to the early workload.

"We knew that playing in the Europa League and straight after against opponents like Udinese and Verona takes a lot out of you," the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

“They can prepare all week for this match, whereas we have one mini-training session. We want to improve the position we had last season and go as far as possible in Europe."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty at 2-1 down, but made up for that with a late equaliser.

Pioli added: “Zlatan told me he was disappointed because we could've won the game, that he'll leave the next penalty for Kessie and that he needs this break to rest. That's true of everyone, really, but we fought to get into Europe and this is what it means."