AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has declared that it is unlikely Alvaro Morata will play tonight against Bayer Leverkusen while he also lifted the lid on what has changed in recent weeks.
Milan face a very tough test in their second Champions League game of the 2024-25 season just as they did in their first, which was a 3-1 loss at home to Liverpool at San Siro which seemed to have Fonseca on the brink of being sacked.
They will face a Leverkusen side who not only won the Bundesliga and the German Cup last season but they did so unbeaten under head coach Xabi Alonso, losing just once in 53 games.
They scored over 140 goals across all competitions and their only defeat was in the Europa League final against Atalanta, denying them a treble. It will be a real examination of Milan’s defensive capabilities after improvements in the last two games.
Fonseca spoke to Sky on the eve of the game against Leverkusen and he answered questions on a number of different topics, which we have translated below.
Will Morata play?
“It will be difficult for him to play, I don’t want to take any risks. He’s not completely well. He trained today but he’s not completely well. He probably won’t play, I don’t want to take any risks due to an injury.”
What has changed recently?
“Above all the trust of the people inside Milan but also in our fans. But I have to say that it is not because we have won these games that we do not have to continue to improve. We are not a team close to what I want, I want more.
“For example, against Lecce we won 3-0 but when we play this type of game we have a lot to improve in our decisions and in our positional play. We have a lot to learn and improve, we have to continue to do our job with balance.
“We have not won anything. Yes, we have won two important games that improve the atmosphere, it is nice to have this confidence, but we have a lot to do.”
You will face a team that has only lost twice in the last calendar year…
“We will face a very strong team, without a doubt one of the teams with the strongest identity that we have seen. Inter also lost only twice last year. These games are opportunities to prove our worth. We know that winning will be difficult.”
What are you seeing from Leao?
“Now that I work with Rafa, a lot of people who talk to me think that Rafa is a different person. He is a beautiful person, who listens, who wants to learn. From the first day I spoke to him, he has this desire to learn and listen to what I have to say. He has a total openness to try to improve.”
Who will play instead of Morata?
“If we think about the players we have now, Loftus is the strongest possibility to play tomorrow.”
Did you feel the total trust of the club in that complicated moment?
“I have a good relationship with all of them. I talk to Zlatan a lot, he comes to Milanello a lot. Then I talk to Geoff, he also comes to Milanello a lot. Then I talk to Giorgio and Gerry. We talked a lot, but they always gave me confidence, I have never heard anything else from them.”
“What has changed recently?
“Above all the trust of the people inside Milan…”
👀👀👀👀👀
Well well well. I guess Ibra, Furly and co were also just as panicky as the fans on the site
I think that he also speaks about the players.. it was hard for him to explain teach them his tactics and maybe they lost a little bit of faith in the system because of it.
Yea I’d think he’d say the players though, no? or that this lads had bought into his ideas or something along that line. “People inside Milan” is a bit telling