AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli has claimed that the Rossoneri are now cured of their poor form and the players are enjoying their football again.
Speaking after the match against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night to Sky Sport (via Milan News), the Milan coach seemed enthused by the 1-0 victory thanks to Brahim Diaz’s early goal at San Siro.
He discussed the way that the team tried to play with an increased intensity for the Champions League round of 16 first leg and went on to address the poor form and attitude the team has exhibited in recent weeks.
“In our mentality we want to be intense, we tried to be aggressive. We accepted many duels. We like to play this way and at certain levels you have to play this kind of football,” Pioli said.
“The players are finally back to smiling and playing with more lightness after the pressure we had created for ourselves: we got a bit down when things didn’t go our way, the team is definitely better now and we’ll be back to playing the kind of football I like. For me, Milan is cured from what I see in training. We’re back a great team, it’s right that a lot is expected of us.”
One player that was particularly impressive was Malick Thiaw who started in the back three and was tasked with defending against the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski. Pioli discussed the importance of talented young players.
“Malick is a guy who has always worked very well. Guys who believe in it and who maybe suffer from playing little but train even harder eventually come out. The club has invested in talented youngsters, but when you take talented young foreigners who are used to different things, unfortunately not everyone can be ready right away. Kalulu and Leao needed their path, in Italy it is hard to wait, but I always have faith in my boys,” he said.
The left side of the team was reinvigorated as Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez posed a serious threat throughout.
“We wanted pairs on the outside. If we were central defending with three defenders we had to move a lot. We tried to send Diaz behind the two centre-backs and Leao with some freedom, knowing that when our left flank gets going we have quality,” Pioli explained.