Ahead of the clash between AC Milan and Slavia Praha, Stefano Pioli spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the decisive encounter. He also explained why he has decided to start Yacine Adli and Yunus Musah in the midfield tandem.
Milan won the first leg 4-2, despite being a man up from the 26th minute, but the two-goal advantage should still be enough to see them through to the quarters. However, after the loss away at Stade Rennes, the Rossoneri know that they cannot take qualification for granted.
Speaking to Sky Italia ahead of the game, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli shared his thoughts on the game and also his starting XI selections. Adli and Musah are both starting in midfield and some could argue that this is an inexperienced couple.
On the game…
“It will be easy today, because at home they play with great pace and energy. We will have to be a team from start to finish.”
Why Musah and Adli?
“This decision stems from the position we want to have in the defensive phase, because Musah can help Theo on the left flank.
What do you expect?
“We expect pace and energy from our opponents, but we also expect it from ourselves.”
Thanks to the two-goal advantage, Milan will not have to go all-out attack immediately and instead, they can exploit the spaces that Slavia Praha will inevitably have to leave uncovered. Rafael Leao is back after his suspension and is surely eager to score.
If he chose Musah for defense reasons it is an awful decision, offensively though he could be dangerous.
Musah has improved defensively, and, in attack. Adli is the one I fear for, but, I hope it works out. However, I expect changes in the second half.