AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli sent a clear message after his side beat Atalanta last night urging the team not to presume the Scudetto is theirs.
Tuttosport (via MilanNews) writes how Pioli wanted to make it clear to his squad that they must not rest on their laurels. ‘The work is not finished yet’ is the concept that Pioli continues to repeat even after yesterday’s very important victory, because one point is still needed to secure the league title.
After the game the Milan boss allowed himself to join in with the ‘Pioli is on fire’ chants under the Curva Sud, but then quickly snapped back into focus and channeled the late Kobe Bryant in sending a statement to the players.
“I showed the boys an interview with Kobe Bryant in which he said that, despite being 2-0 ahead in an NBA play-off series, the work was not yet finished. And the same goes for us, we have done a lot, but not everything yet,” he said.
Milan need the right attitude against Sassuolo who are a tricky and dangerous opponent as Pioli found out at San Siro earlier this season as the Neroverdi came from a goal behind to end up winning 3-1.
Pioli added: “The first day I arrived I didn’t think I could fight for the Scudetto one day, but there was a desire to work. At the beginning of the season I said that our goal was to overtake the 79 points last year: I knew that by improving that result, something else could happen. Having said that, we mustn’t make the mistake of thinking it’s over, because Sassuolo have incredible attacking players. ”
Adesso.
Più che mai. pic.twitter.com/txFufJBkSY
— Fabio (@IlBuonFabio) May 15, 2022