After the game between AC Milan and Hellas Verona, which the Rossoneri eventually won 1-2, Stefano Pioli shared his thoughts with the media. It was a hard-fought win for his men and he highlighted this.
Milan had to fight until the very end as Verona pushed for an equaliser after Sandro Tonali restored the lead in the 81st minute. It was quite a strange game overall, with a lot of back and forth and very little active playing time in the second half.
Speaking to DAZN, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli shared his thoughts on the game and admitted that it was a very tough game for Milan. He also praised the summer signings, as the likes of Origi, Adli and Thiaw worked hard today.
The importance of the win compared to last year…
“I like what my players say, we have to think like this. We need to win many games if we want to think about winning the Scudetto again. Once again in the difficulties, the team has been able to work well, we have individualities that allow us to find the winning play like that of Rebic for Sandro.”
On Theo Hernandez’s hybrid position in the middle of the pitch…
“We expected Theo’s movement inside to cause issues for Verona’s flank, as when you have a player like Leao 1v1s are favourable. Every time Leao took the ball to the line, he put them in trouble. Theo wasn’t that involved because Faraoni followed him well. We suffered in the transitions because we brought so many men forward, that is true.”
Now finally a week of rest/work…
“In this match, there were many motivations and above all to find the third consecutive victory in the league that we hadn’t yet managed, as well as the desire to continue doing well away. Now we will have a full week to recover energy and work well, we will have time to prepare seven games in twenty days.”
On the new arrivals…
“It certainly wasn’t an easy match for Adli. They man-mark almost everywhere on the field. It was the first from start, some difficulties are normal to expect. Thiaw, Vranckx, and Dest arrived less than two months ago, they are young guys who come from different leagues. They have great potential and a great desire to work. I’m sure they will be ready soon.
“Origi is finally fine, he got rid of the bad injury that blocked him: he didn’t feel free and loose. He finally made a left-footed shot, it’s an important sign for him. We have two strikers that we can switch between. Rebic has finally recovered completely, now I’ll have to give Messias minutes too. I hope to recover Mike, Kjaer, Charles this week, because playing so often the mental energies are hard to recover and therefore I need many players.”
The Rossoneri will now have the luxury of resting for almost a full week before taking on Monza next Saturday. The likes of Mike Maignan, Simon Kjaer and Charles De Ketelaere are all expected back for that game as well.
Will maignan be able to play chl
Yes he will available for the next CL game
Maignan should be ready for the next CL game. It’s great to hear nearly everyone will be back in a week. We need to give some players a rest. Giroud especially.