AC Milan technical director Paolo Maldini has insisted that Juventus have ‘more to lose’ than the Rossoneri do in tonight’s game.
Milan know that a victory will see them move four points clear atop the Serie A table and extend the gap above Juve to 13 points, and you can read our match preview here.
There are a number of selection problems though as Matteo Gabbia, Ismael Bennacer, Alexis Saelemaekers and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are all injured, while Sandro Tonali is suspended and both Rade Krunic and Ante Rebic have Coronavirus.
Maldini spoke to Sky Italia before tonight’s game against Juventus about a number of different topics, with his comments transcribed by MilanNews and translated below.
“Juventus have more to lose than we do, because if the worst comes to the worst, we’ll still be top of the table tonight,” he said.
“We have many difficulties with COVID, injuries and everything else, but these players have already proved over the last few months that they have extraordinary spirit.
“This Milan-Juventus is one without a crowd, and all my memories are tied to the atmosphere on the pitch, the combination of fans and players.
“This is still football, but it’s different, it’s less emotional. It was an advantage to play against Celtic in Glasgow without a crowd, but I still told the players they were unlucky to miss out on such an extraordinary experience.”
On the decision to play Calabria in midfield: “The players are ready for anything to help out in this emergency situation.”
On Andrea Pirlo, his former team-mate: “Seeing Andrea on the other touchline is still a bit strange. I still see him as my teammate. We’re rivals tonight, but he will always be my brother.”
On the transfer market: “There is a lot of talk about the transfer market. We have to give credit to those who are there, we will only make the transfer if we need to improve this team. We will try to do it.”
On the vision with young players: “This year has given us more credibility, we are the youngest team in Italy and we have already achieved results. Working for Milan is easy, the young people feel the story, and when they see that the club wants to aim for results by making the youngsters grow it is something more.”
READ MORE: Milan vs. Juventus starting XIs – Calabria in midfield as Pioli shuffles due to absences
