AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has explained his decision to choose Yacine Adli in the midfield, and once again referred to the Borussia Dortmund game as a ‘turning point’.
Milan’s qualification hopes were boosted by the 2-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in their last European night at San Siro, while they also ended a four-game winless run in Serie A on Saturday by beating Fiorentina 1-0 thanks to Theo Hernandez’s penalty kick.
Pioli admitted in his pre-match press conference that he is aware of how much is riding on the game against Dortmund – including a potential €100m in revenues – and his side will need to improve again from the weekend win.
The head coach spoke to Mediaset Infinity half an hour before kick-off in the game at San Siro and he was quizzed on what tonight means for his side and why he decided to make a change in midfield, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“We want it with our own strength. It’s the turning point match, we have to interpret it with great strength and positivity,” he said.
“Adli? We want to build in a certain way, he has characteristics that are more suited to the game plan. They first leg? They conceded chances, but so did we. It’s likely that the open game will be repeated this evening. Their football is very proactive, but they leave some space and we will have to strike at the right moments.”