AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has described his side as ‘determined and tenacious’ after they brushed aside Red Bull Salzburg with a 4-0 win at San Siro last night.
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It was Olivier Giroud who was the man for the big stage again in truth, with the Frenchman scoring a goal either side of half-time to register a brace and also collecting two assists in what was a clinical performance.
Pioli spoke to Milan TV after the game to reflect on the performance from his side and the emotions after ticking off an objective for the season.
“A lot of emotion, we are experiencing fantastic evenings. Playing at San Siro is exciting now, it fills us with pride and energy. We are Italian champions, we are Milan, we have to think about the second round to demonstrate our qualities once again,” he said (via MilanNews).
“They are stimulating situations. Now it is important to come back strong in the league too, we have to avenge the mistake in Turin and do well these last three games and then start again in January fighting for all our targets with great enthusiasm.”
Did you expect this growth in Europe? “I hoped so. Last year’s experience was useful to us, we also took some blows but it is from disappointments that you understand where to improve. This year’s group was less demanding than last year, but it was the growth I expected. We have a strong group, we must have the obsession to keep improving and to be able to win every game we play.”
An adjective for your squad? “A determined and tenacious Milan, we played with the determination needed to overcome this match. It’s easy to say that the pressures are a privilege, we knew the difficulties of the game. It was a wonderful match, even if as a coach I was hoping to allow less chances: Krunic’s second goal smoothed things out for us. When you really want something it is the greatest motivation you can have.”
