AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has revealed that Rafael Leao is feeling better and suggested that he will be fit enough to start against Inter tomorrow.
The build-up to the first leg was dominated by contradicting stories regarding whether Leao would recover from an adductor problem in time to face Inter, and the return leg is no different given he did not make the trip for the game against Spezia at the weekend.
There have been positive updates over the last couple of days regarding the condition of the Portuguese winger and he even did almost all of yesterday’s training session with the rest of the team, so optimism is growing that he will start tomorrow.
Pioli gave an interview with Sky which aired on the eve of the Champions League semi-final second leg against the Nerazzurri, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
On the current moment: “The team knows they still have a great opportunity. We are focused and determined to overturn a prediction that currently sees us as underdogs.
“Few would have thought that Milan could get this far. At this point, we want to get there. The first leg didn’t go as we wanted, we did better in the second half, but we want to do much better.
“It’s a matter of menality and quality of play. We didn’t lose in the first leg because we ran less than Inter. We’ll win if we play better than them and limit our mistakes.”
On Leao: “He’s fine, yesterday he did almost everything in the group. Today we hope he can do all the training, as well as Krunic and Messias.”
On the fans: “They have always supported us, especially in the less easy moments. Knowing that we have fans so close will always help us.”
On the ritiro at Milanello: “The Champions League has reserved a lot of satisfaction for Milan, we too want to enter the history of this competition. We are staying at Milanello because tomorrow we have the last finishing touches, also to see the condition of some players.”
On the type of match to play: “We’ll have to be balanced and compact. And we have to believe we can beat our opponents. Obviously it would be important to take the lead, no matter the moment, but it’s important to be able to do so. We’ll play as a compact and attentive team.”
On a speech to the team before the match: “It’s wrong to forget the first leg, indeed we have to remember it well. We know that we have only one chance and we have to play with great intensity.”
