The Rossoneri coach spoke on the eve of the Bergamo challenge: “It will take a great game to win tomorrow, Bennacer is not a starter yet.”
AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli is preparing his team to face Atalanta with the goal of building on the victories against Fiorentina and Frosinone. For the Bergamo challenge, the Milan coach will still have to deal with some defensive difficulties but will welcome back Giroud and possibly Leao in the attack: “Today’s training will be decisive, then we will decide whether to bring him to Bergamo or not.”
PIOLI’S FULL PRESS CONFERENCE:
On the current moment in the season:
“There are still many matches left to draw any final conclusions, but it is clear that we absolutely need to seek continuity. That is the main goal, and tomorrow we have a great opportunity to build on our last 2 wins. The minimum goal is the fourth position, although we want to achieve something more.”
What do you think about Atalanta?
“It will be a beautiful and difficult match; they will fight until the end for the top four positions. La Dea are a complete team that has had some difficulties in the last few games but they have strength and organizational capabilities. It will take a high-level performance from us to win tomorrow.“
On Gasperini and De Ketelaere:
“I admire his tactical consistency; he has always given a precise identity to his teams. I wouldn’t take anything from him because each of us has our own ideas, but he is a colleague that I greatly respect and admire. De Ketelaere on the other hand is playing in a more offensive role this year and has started very well. Last year with us certainly helped him. He is a player who has a high perspective, and he will certainly be someone to keep an eye on for the match.”
On Leao and Kjaer and OKafor?
“For Rafa, today’s training is very important. In the last few days, he has reached good intensity levels, and then we will decide whether to bring him to Bergamo or not. Kjaer on the other hand has overcome the issue but has not yet trained with the group and he won’t be available. Okafor won’t be back for tomorrow, but we will evaluate him in the upcoming days, and if there is any progress, his return will be closer.”
On the Champions League:
“We are only thinking about tomorrow’s match against Atalanta; we are not already thinking about Newcastle now, we will talk about it during the week.”
On recoveries and absences:
“At certain moments in a season, certain situations arise, and we must deal with all these absences. Naturally, the more players we have available, the better. Tomorrow will be an opportunity to demonstrate our value. Bennacer as a starter? He needs some time to regain fitness, he won’t be starting tomorrow.”
On the conditions of Jovic and Krunic:
“Jovic is a player of quality and talent, but he needs to be more ruthless. If he can maintain this level, he can be helpful. Rade is not playing as before due to a condition issue. Now he is experiencing a small drop in form compared to the beginning of the season, and now there are teammates who are in better shape than him.”
On Theo as a central defender:
“In the build-up phase, having a left-footed player in the middle of the defence can be very important, but Tomori has also done well in that position. However, it is clear that Theo gives us different kind of solutions in that position. We’ll see.“
On feeling like a scapegoat:
“I am the coach of Milan and have big responsibilities, I don’t feel like either a hero or a victim.”
