AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has stated that he wants to see ‘energy and desire’ from his side against Borussia Dortmund tomorrow, to overcome a ‘difficult’ game.
Milan ended their four-game winless run in the league on Saturday night as they beat Fiorentina 1-0 thanks to Theo Hernandez’s penalty, gaining points on Juventus and Inter who played out a 1-1 draw last night.
However, the performance level will have to be raised tomorrow night when Borussia Dortmund visit the San Siro in what is a huge game in deciding who will make it through to the Champions League knockout stages.
Dortmund find themselves top of the group by virtue of their back-to-back victories against Newcastle United and with PSG hosting the Premier League side it is not far from a must-win for Milan.
Pioli spoke on the eve of the game alongside captain Davide Calabria at the Milanello press conference room, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Tomorrow is a big game in the Champions League journey…
“We are playing an important match, you could use the term turning point for the group. They are a strong team, but they can suffer, so we have to play with everything we can do for 95 minutes.”
Milan fan Jannik Sinner set an example…
“Not only his determination: but the talent, the quality, the mentality, the desire to win every single point from Jannik. If he is at the stadium we will be happy. I congratulate him a lot, to him, to Italy and to Captain Volandri.”
How important will the atmosphere of San Siro be?
“I’ll just say one thing: we knew the Yellow Wall, but they don’t know the San Siro of the Champions League. We do. I’m sure the fans will help us tomorrow night too.”
Will the PSG match be an inspiration?
“That’s the reference. We went down, but we remained a team until the end. That must be the mental attitude, then the match will be different because Dortmund are different to PSG.”
What have you thought about Chukwueze?
“I was happy with his performance on Saturday. He worked a lot for the team, he found himself in the right positions. He also had a difficult start due to an injury. Now in my opinion he’s fine. Maybe a little more inside on the pitch he gets more into the heart of the game, but it depends on how we play and the combinations with Calabria.”
Why is it a potential turning point?
“The objective is clear: to be competitive in the league and in the Champions League. Moving forward in the Champions League is very important.”
How did the team look in training?
“The team knows the importance of tomorrow’s match, but also with the serenity that distinguishes us.”
Loftus-Cheek will be back…
“Rubs was scheduled to play a stretch on Saturday. He wasn’t 100% before PSG, so…”
How is Theo Hernandez?
“Everyone gets criticised when we haven’t won in many games. He has the qualities to always play great games. With respect to position on the pitch: our players are very good at occupying the right positions. Theo went to the middle of the pitch to get the penalty and provide a great assist for Jovic.”
What do you want to see tomorrow?
“I want to see the team put everything it has on the field, I’m sure my players won’t disappoint me. Energy and desire to overcome a difficult obstacle. Those sensations that we know, that belong to us, that the fans made us experience”
With Fiorentina were you only thinking about the three points?
“We always play to win. Then there are moments and moments in the season and on Saturday it was the moment to approach the match in that way. Against PSG we didn’t go in the second half to catch them in their area…
“Even if that’s not the case being high or deep changes, but attention must remain. We didn’t concede goals in Lecce due to bad luck or due to being high or deep, but due to inattention.”
