AC Milan head coach Marco Giampaolo has discussed some of the criticisms of his side ahead of this weekend’s Derby della Madonnina.
The Rossoneri have won two games out of three to start the 2019-20 Serie A season, but they have been far from convincing in every game.
They began the season with a dismal 1-0 defeat away at Udinese – a performance so bad that Giampaolo admitted that he is considering scrapping the 4-3-1-2 in favour of a 4-3-3.
Back-to-back wins over Brescia and Hellas Verona followed either side of the international break, but both were narrow 1-0 victories that did little to calm the concerns of certain fans.
Saturday’s derby presents somewhat of a watershed moment for the new Milan boss in that it is his first big test, and it comes against a team that has nine points out of nine so far.
Giampaolo reflected on the season so far in his pre-match press conference.
“Sooner or later the game of the turning point can come. Every game is good to see the team replicate what they did in training,” he told reporters gathered at Casa Milan (via MilanNews.it).
“I believe it’s possible to defend keeping possession. You don’t need to park the bus to defend, there are many ways.
“Our goal is to do many things well but we need to work hard on each of them. I want my team to win the ball high on the field. We need to pay very close attention to the tiny details.
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“During the summer the team played in the way we wanted them to, in the league they did less. The team understand my football philosophy well and what I want us to show.
“Perhaps we are struggling because we are still trying to adapt. We had players coming back late from various international tournaments.
“As far as I am concerned there is only one Milan. I coach 23 players and I’m happy with them, but there is only one Milan. I don’t talk about individual players, the team comes before any individual.”
On his opposite number Antonio Conte, he added: “I don’t think I’ve ever faced Conte before but he has had an important career.
“I’ve seen his evolution as a coach. I know what his idea of football is.”
READ MORE: Four key changes Giampaolo should make to Milan XI for Inter clash – MilanTalk
