Technical director Paolo Maldini believes there are still a lot of areas where AC Milan can improve, as the consecutive league defeats have shown the team.
After back-to-back league defeats against Fiorentina and Sassuolo – which came either side of a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League at the Wanda Metropolitano – the Rossoneri make the trip around 100 miles south to face Andriy Shevchenko’s Rossoblu.
The recent losses in the league will not have pleased Maldini given his status as arguably the best defender of all time as the Rossoneri let seven goals in across the two games, the first time they have conceded that many in consecutive matches in over 23 years.
Maldini spoke to Sky Italia before tonight’s game against Genoa at the Marassi and he discussed a number of different topics, with his comments transcribed by MilanNews.
On seeing Shevchenko and Tassotti: “He called me yesterday and I asked him ‘what do you want?’. He wanted us to see each other before the game. We met before the warm-up, I saw him and Mauro and it is impressive to see them on the other side. They are a piece of Milan.”
On the match and the emotions it will arouse: “I do not consider myself a cold person. For Shevchenko it will undoubtedly be a particular match for all that Milan has meant for him. As for us, we have gone from being super unbeaten to two consecutive defeats in the league interspersed with the match in Madrid, which gave us hope in the Champions League but took away a lot from us physically.”
On what he has told the team: “I do not speak to the team if there is no need, what the coach said remains inside the dressing room. We have defections like everyone else but we have to start again. There have never been easy games in Genoa but we are strong. We have to start with the right head and try to get back to being as concentrated as we were.”
On the team’s room for improvement: “There are many margins for improvement being a young team. Managing emotions is something you learn with experience. The players are young. You also need to know how to manage your body better by playing every three days. We know that we have made many steps forward but we cannot be satisfied because we must be worthy of the history of this club.”
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