AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli believes that playing in front of a packed San Siro will give his side an advantage of sorts against Liverpool.
The Rossoneri must first beat Jurgen Klopp’s side and then wait for good news from Portugal where the game between Porto and Atletico Madrid will take place. If it is a draw or if Atletico win by the same margin as the Rossoneri (or a lesser margin), then there will be celebrations at San Siro.
Pioli spoke to Milan TV on the eve of the game against Liverpool and stressed the importance of the San Siro crowd being a 12th man for his team.
“Facing certain challenges fills you with knowledge, emotions, attitudes that you must have in terms of preparation, of attention. So surely all these high-level challenges have made us grow in awareness and have made us understand how they prepare, live and play certain matches,” he said (via MilanNews).
“We have only one chance, which is to do the best we can and try to beat one of the strongest teams in the world. This is our goal, our motivation, there is no other match, there will not be another chance.
“We wanted this situation at all costs by winning a great match in Madrid, we wanted at all costs to participate in the Champions League again and now we are only focused on what we can clearly control, which is our performance and tomorrow night’s result.
“There will not be just 11 on the field tomorrow evening but there will be many more. We already saw it on our debut at home against Atletico Madrid when the stadium was wonderful for participation, support for enthusiasm and it will be the same tomorrow.
“Our fans are showing above all that they support us, believe in us and help us especially in the difficult moments of the match. This is a beautiful sign, it means that they see in us people who struggle, who want to give their best.
“Playing at home is certainly an important situation. Then it is true that the change is always the same size, it is true that we are 11 against 11 but it is equally true that in front of our fans we can play even stronger.”
The salient moments from the Boss and @fikayotomori_'s pre-match #UCL interviews ahead of tomorrow’s clash 🎙️
Le interviste di Mister Pioli e Tomori alla vigilia di #MilanLiverpool 🎙️
#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/BiKDqLEcRn— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 6, 2021
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