AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke to the squad before their game against Hellas Verona tonight.
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Milan got arguably their biggest three points of the season tonight against Verona, coming from a goal behind to score three times and secure a 3-1 victory. Faraoni gave the home side the lead with a header, before Sandro Tonali equalised after Sandro Tonali’s cut-back.
The same duo then combined as the former Lille man set up the Italian midfielder to make it 2-1 early in the second half and Alessandro Florenzi made it three late on as he came off the bench and netted with a fantastic half-volley.
Pioli spoke to the reporters who gathered in the media room at the Bentegodi for his post-match press conference to reflect on the game and his side’s performance, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“The team believes in it, because they know they feel good on the pitch. We went behind when it shouldn’t have happened, because we had started with great quality,” he said.
“We arrived at these matches with past experiences that have helped us a lot, making us understand that the matches are long and you have to stay in them with ideas and spirit. There is satisfaction. It was another difficult match after Lazio and Fiorentina. All big games, but the boys are facing them in the best way.”
On Tonali’s position: “It’s our way of preparing for matches: we study our opponents well. Usually we prefer to attack more with the full-backs, today we built only with Kessie and Tonali had more chances to get in the box. It takes time to get to know the team. I meant this: with Tonali I discovered new characteristics that, now, I know better and I try to exploit them.”
Is this the best moment of the season? “It is the season of awareness and confirmation of our qualities. Nobody predicted that we could have gone higher than last year, but now the work is not finished yet.”
On Leao: “Leao is talented and has had the availability to the team, in me and in the work. I hope that in a while we can say that Tonali is Tonali and that Leao is Leao.”
On debunking ‘Fatal Verona’: “We know there was no tomorrow. We want to write our story. Ibrahimovic said something beautiful: ‘Everyone remembers who from Milan he won the Scudetti and the Champions League, so if we want to be remembered we have three games’.”
