AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli told his players to approach the game against Porto with ‘great determination and great conviction’ in what is a do-or-die fixture essentially.
The Rossoneri have been the early pace-setters in Serie A along with Napoli as they have won 10 of their first 11 games, racking up 31 of the available 33 points in the process, but they have been unable to keep that momentum going in Europe so far.
Milan have lost all three of their Champions League group stages games thus far, losing 3-2 at Anfield against Liverpool, 2-1 at home against Atletico Madrid and most recently 1-0 in the reverse fixture against tonight’s opponents Porto.
It has left the Diavolo needing a minor miracle to finish in the top two and get through to the last 16, but winning in tonight’s do-or-die game would certainly be an ideal start. Pioli spoke to Amazon Prime Video before the game against Porto and demanded a better game from his side, also discussing his selection choices, with MilanNews relaying his comments.
“Surely we must be very precise from a technical point of view and be very clear and at the same time we must be compact because we have a strong opponent in front of us,” he said.
“Giroud plays. He is similar to Ibrahimovic for physicality, he can give us depth even in the last few metres. We have two strong strikers: Olivier will start the game, we’ll see if there is room for Zlatan during the match.
“We know it’s an important match, we have to approach it with great determination and great conviction.”
READ MORE: AC Milan vs. Porto starting XIs – four changes made from Roma win
Milan do not have a Champions League capable Coach.
Milan looked small against the other teams in the Group simply because of the Dumbo coach Pioli
So should we change coach?
So should we change coach?