Yacine Adli has revealed his belief that he is being repaid for all of the sacrifices he has made, including learning a new position as a deeper-lying midfield player.
Tijjani Reijnders was not available for the game given that he picked up a yellow card against Frosinone thus triggering a one-game ban and it the first game he has missed all season.
A change in midfield was needed as a result, with Adli keeping his spot in the double pivot and being joined by Ismael Bennacer who was fit enough to start again after recovering from an adductor problem.
The former Bordeaux man certainly did his part in contributing to a clean sheet, meaning that Theo Hernandez’s first half goal was enough to earn the win for Milan and move them 17 points clear of Napoli in the table.
Adli spoke to Sky Italia to assess what was a hard-fought three points in front of over 73,000 fans at San Siro, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Does winning mean Milan have some consistency?
“I think we are working in the right way at the moment. It may be trivial but we try to think from game to game and we are doing it well. We want to continue like this.”
Is it a case of sacrifices being repaid?
“I think I’ve always believed in my work, I’ve never given up. I’ve always given everything, and now I’m being repaid for all the sacrifices I’ve made.”
How are you feeling in the defensive phase?
“I’m working on my defensive phase. I think it will never have the contribution of the top players, but I try to give balance to the team even if we play differently. I always try to give a filter, sometimes it’s not easy, but today went well.”
