AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has addressed the criticism he and the team have faced recently, while also giving an update on injuries and speaking about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s potential return.
It has been a difficult recent period for Milan in truth, as they are winless in their last three games and have dropped to third in the Serie A table and bottom of their Champions League group, albeit with plenty of points still on offer.
The Juventus-PSG-Napoli trio of games was deemed by many to be an early-season barometer of how far the Rossoneri have come, and they sadly didn’t pass the test. A 1-0 loss to Juve was followed by a 3-0 defeat in Paris, then a 2-0 lead in Naples turned into a 2-2 draw.
That means that Milan need a reaction badly on Saturday night at San Siro when they host a winless Udinese side. Pioli spoke to the reporters who gathered at Milanello for his pre-match press conference, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Milan come from a draw against Napoli, has the bar been raised?
“Yes, but it’s normal: when a team goes 0-2 after that first half it was reasonable to expect to win. That wasn’t the case. It’s a shame about the goal conceded at the start. But that’s in the past now: what matters is tomorrow… then it’s right that expectations have risen.”
Will there be force management? Best possible training tomorrow?
“Tomorrow we’ll have the best possible line-up and we’ll start with the intention of winning: it’s too important to win again.”
Can you give us an injury update?
“Loftus-Cheek is better and will be there, Pulisic as a precaution won’t be available tomorrow but that will be against PSG, as will Chukwueze. Kjaer has a good chance for Tuesday.”
How are the group doing?
“I am absolutely certain about one thing: I have never had – not even in the year of the Scudetto – such a compact, cohesive, eager and willing group and also in such a short time. I told the boys: we have to take advantage of this luck.”
There has been a lot of recent criticism…
“It’s normal for us to be criticised and for me to be criticised if Milan don’t win for three games. We have to work to improve, because out of three direct clashes we haven’t won even one: we have to raise our level.”
Any news on Ibrahimovic’s potential return?
“I don’t know. At Milanello I work with a lot of people, I often speak with Moncada and Furlani and the club is structured to support us. If the club and Zlatan decide to create other situations…
“You know how much respect I have for him, for me there’s no would be problems. I’m a lucky coach: the club always puts me in the ideal conditions to do my job.”
Does Romero have a chance to start tomorrow?
“I thought he could have more impact in Naples, because he always trains very well. It’s a solution for tomorrow, then we’ll see.”
Is Theo declining?
“If we can give each of us 1% more then we can really reach a very high level.”
There has been a lot of recent injury problems…
“The last two weeks have been difficult with injuries one after the other. We will soon improve this situation, but tomorrow we will have some problems especially in the defensive department.”
How are Milan physically?
“Playing with energy is our goal, even if it doesn’t always mean attacking our opponents high.”
Is Reijnders ok?
“He’s not declining, I’m happy with his performances.”
Are the injuries also due to stress?
“I know the trainer Pincolini and I have great respect for him, I worked with him: I know that when he speaks he says the right things. I think he is partly right: the mental aspect is important”.
Do you expect a reinforcement in defence?
“We lost two defenders in defence. I’m talking to the club so that a defender can arrive in January.”
Are Simic in defence and Musah on the wing possible alternatives?
“Simic is an interesting young player, I could also have other options. Musah is complete: he can play wide, he can also play low. But I hope that tomorrow he won’t need to find other solutions.”
What must the team do to grow that 1%?
“We have not lost enthusiasm and we are not presumptuous. Improving comes from playing matches with a mentality. Tomorrow we will find an opponent who will be very deep, we will need to make logical choices.”
Are you satisfied with the group?
“I am very satisfied with the group that has been created and with a certain identity that we already have. But we still have ample room for improvement, both on an individual and collective level.”
What difficulties will there be tomorrow?
“The difficulties will be finding the right spaces, because they will be very deep. We have to play a lot in their half of the pitch, with clarity, patience and frenzy, as well as with a lot of compactness.”
Is Giroud the best centre-forward you’ve had?
“My opinion on the man and the player is top. I have coached great centre-forwards: Zlatan, Klose, Gilardino… He has a very high level.”
Are you worried about the actual playing time tomorrow?
“The referee will have to be very attentive and good at understanding these situations, we have to think about ourselves.”
“I am absolutely certain about one thing: I have never had – not even in the year of the Scudetto – such a compact, cohesive, eager and willing group and also in such a short time. I told the boys: we have to take advantage of this luck.”
that was black sense of humour I guess trolololol
I don’t think Gilardino deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Zlatan, Klose and Giroud!
It’s good to hear the group are united and motivated. I expect to see a reaction v Udinese, plenty of domination and plenty of goals.
We may have lot’s of injuries but the majority of our first 11 is fit, luckily