AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has explained his thinking regarding Franck Kessie’s role against Inter and why it didn’t work, and he hinted that it is not yet certain he will leave the club.
Pioli decided to change the role of Kessie in the derby as he did not play in the double pivot but was deployed as attacking midfielder in place of Brahim Diaz, who started the match from the bench. It is not the first time that the Ivorian has played in that role as he had already occupied it in the away win over Empoli before Christmas, when he scored a brace.
The idea was to limit the involvement of Inter’s midfield quarterback Marcelo Brozovic, and at the same time be proactive in the offensive phase by establishing a physical presence and being proactive with movement, but it didn’t quite work in a tough first half.
Pioli spoke this morning on Rai Radio Uno about a number of different topics including the victory over Inter and what it means to the team, his tactical choices in that game and his future at Milan, and he also discussed Kessie’s position.
“He can play in many roles. On Saturday I put him on the frontline to limit Brozovic. In the defensive phase he did well, while in the attacking phase we didn’t have a smooth manoeuvre,” he said (via MilanNews).
“Diaz entered well, we needed more brilliance and he gave it to us. Kessie is a professional, we’ll see what happens on a contractual level.”
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