MILAN, Dec 6  - AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti criticised his team after a 2-0 defeat to Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday saying they had never played so badly.

Although Milan had already claimed top spot in Group H two weeks ago, their second successive defeat in the competition comes amid some poor displays in Serie A where Ancelotti's team are adrift in 15th place.

"We played badly, very badly. We seemed to have been starting to improve recently but today we fell back," he said.

"We had few ideas, little clarity in our play and little determination -- in fact little anything. We have to forget this one," added the Milan coach.

Ancelotti has defended his team throughout their poor run of form but at the post-match press conference at the San Siro he made clear he was far from satisfied with the season so far.

"We have not been playing very well for quite a while but we have never been as bad as this," he said before dismissing a question about the speculation likely to surround his future.

"Rumours are really the last of my problems. We need to improve a lot and we need a lot more effort. We have to change our approach and we need to really make the most of the two months before we return to action in the Champions League," he said.

"We need to get the injured players back and there are a lot of other things to do. I hope this will serve as a wake-up call to the team -- it was a horrible night," added Ancelotti.

The result was Milan's first defeat at home to French opposition. The six-times European champions had won 15 of their previous 17 European home games, losing just once -- in last season's semi-final against Barcelona.