Dinamo Zagreb coach Ante Cacic had some very complimentary words to say about AC Milan after his side lost 3-1 at San Siro last night.
Milan went into the game against the Croatian champions knowing they would need to put in a good performance to win against a side that have 25 points from a possible 27 in the league and are 10 points clear of second place.
Not only that but they stunned Chelsea in the first group stage game, winning 1-0 in Croatia to get Thomas Tuchel the sack. However, Milan negotiated the task well and won 3-1 with goals from Olivier Giroud, Alexis Saelemaekers and Tommaso Pobega.
Cacic spoke to the reporters who gathered inside the conference room at San Siro after the game to reflect on the performance of his side and also give his verdict on some of Milan’s top players, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
What did you think of the match?
“When you lose, you can’t be totally satisfied. We made some mistakes, including the penalty. Then we had the strength to reopen the game, but we couldn’t catch up. We were playing against a strong opponent, I congratulate them.”
Was there so much need to make a defensive wall today?
“In reality, we would have liked to have played more attacking, but Milan didn’t allow it. They are Italian champions, they have a lot of quality and you can see a lot in the details.”
What impressed you the most about Milan?
“Milan are a compact and fast team, they have a very strong left wing in Leao and Theo and Giroud who always do the right things. It is really difficult to oppose these players.”
Who do you see as favourite between Milan and Chelsea for the top spot? Do Dinamo still have a chance?
“We have never been favourites in these matches, we will do our best to play with our all. We did it in the first match, today less thanks to AC Milan. The Croatian top flight is not Serie A. Milan and Chelsea they are excellent teams, but in football the favourites don’t always win…”
Who would you prefer to have: Leao or Raheem Sterling?
“Between the two I would prefer Leao at the moment. I wish him the best and I am sure he will have a wonderful career.”
There’s no comparison, Sterling is a bottler and never shows up in big games. Leao has been clutch for us this year. Hopefully he can have a good performance against Chelsea.
Rafael Leao vs Raheem Sterling ?
They have completely different playing-style.
Sterling’s strengths are his smart movements, & shots.
Leao’s strengths are dribble & physical attribute.
Leao tends more passive in movements to force opponents clear the middle area to mark him (go to isolation). Sterling tends to always moving finding spaces.
If they switch club, both of them will failed.
Sterling is way more composed and matured, a better finisher and finds spaces better. At the moment, sterling is better, leao is good but still needs time to fine-tune and polish some of his qualities, right now, sterling is more complete ANd more experienced.