Speaking after the important 3-1 win against Frosinone, AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli shared his thoughts on the performance and what will be needed moving forward. He also praised Theo Hernandez, who did very well at centre-back.
As has become a regular occurrence these days, Milan headed into the clash with many key absences and thus had to field Hernandez at centre-back. The Frenchman did really well along with the criticised Luka Jovic, who bagged a goal and an assist (read the player ratings here).
Speaking to Sky Italia, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli shared his thoughts on the important win. He praised his players while admitting that Milan will need continuity to keep their confidence at a good level.
On the victory…
“It was our goal. It’s important to have won the second game in a row (in the league, editor’s note). We must add continuity to our season if we want to fight for the top places.”
On Theo at centre-back…
“It was his idea, he spoke to me and told me that he could play in that role. He did very well in the defensive phase and also in the build-up. He played a great game, he demonstrated a great desire to help the team in a delicate moment.”
On Cardinale’s visit to Milanello…
“I often speak to him, every time he comes to Milan we see each other. Like all owners, he asks for clarification on things that didn’t go well. It was a positive and constructive meeting for me.”
On training choices…
“I trust many of the young players, the youth sector is doing a great job. But I think it’s right to have the clarity to understand the moments, understand when you need to put them on the pitch and when to put more experienced players. Today there was no room for emotion. I’m not afraid to put them on the field, but I know when I have to put them on.”
On Milan’s moment…
“There is a lack of continuity and we need to find it in our performances. The sooner we recover the injured players, the more we will increase our quality. This situation is having an impact. We need to find continuity in the league to fight for the top.”
On the match…
“We played a very good match against an opponent who is doing well. We conceded little, apart from the opportunity that came after Tomori’s mistake.”
On Di Francesco…
“I complimented him. He’s an excellent coach and an intelligent person. Frosinone plays well, we were good at being a team. We deserved to win against a good team.”
Milan will face Atalanta next and Olivier Giroud will be back from his suspension then. Given Jovic’s performance tonight, however, there is less urgency surrounding the No.9 role for now. It remains to be seen if the Serbian can keep things up.
Theo must of got some tips from his brother.
Good to see his initiative and his performance matched.
The melancholy truth is Pioli has done all his best on this team, but we need a more dynamic, brave and intelligent coach, we have a good pool of players, in the team, out on loan and the Youth set up, we need someone who will see the potential in all of them, with Pioli, he will not use them, and eventually end up scaring them, we need a new Direction and Coach…
Of course it was his idea, you’d expect that idiot Pioli to come up with solutions? What’s his solution? Krunic.
Yes cedit for Theo for suggesting the idea. BUT also credit for Pioli to believed on Theo and brave enough to executed his idea considering Theo never played as CB at any Serie-A match.
Even many crybabies in here thinks Pioli should play Simic from primavera who doesn’t have any experiences against Serie-A team.
Give credit where credit is due. Don’t let arrogant and hate cloud your judgment.
😂😂
Been my favorite player since he joined the team ,wish he was used more like he is used by DesChamps. Of course it helps with Giroud being the striker on the team as well. As a caveat to this, Maignan has been getting a lot of criticism , you can expect goals when basically the opposition has been taking “penalty” shots against him with our porous back line and midfield defence.
Now we all understand.
We don’t know certain things, and the head who leads them all would always be the one to bear the brunt. Just imagine if Theo had a bad game, we will all be here to roast him, he should have played Simic instead, and the painful part is, he will just own up a tactical error on his part, he wouldn’t come to the press to say it was Theo’s idea. Look management is not as easy as we try to make it look. That is not to say that Pioli is a good coach either, he still needs to leave, but criticism should be constructive rather than destructive.
Somebody said “Theo’s lack of positioning will cost us a goal. At this point I predict Milan 1-2 Frosinone”. Meanwhile it was the player’s idea, we must learn to be constructive on our opinions, rather than always complain like immature fans.
#PioliOut
#MilanTillTheFvckingCasket!
@John, I saw that comment from someone too. It’s absurd! I know most of us wants PIOLI fired since he’s shown for sometime now he can’t manage the team anymore but we shouldn’t let it get to our head. Let him do his job as long as he’s on the bench. ❤️🖤
Really absurd I tell you.
Even though i don’t believe it would be smart to sack Pioli mid season or unless if there is an actual improvement available i quite like your comment John and several people on this website should take notice and learn of it.
Its funny when pioli said theo could be a center back, many said it was absurd idea. When its working then its theo idea and not pioli because pioli is an idiot will not think about this idea.
Come on grow up man. Dont give opinion like an immature child…
“Dont give opinion like an immature child…”
Well… I believe most of people here ARE immature children… 🙂
Yes we all know that moment. That moment when you have no other possibility. Like with Kalulu and Thiaw. Otherwise we would never see them play. You simply dont trust young players, you dont understand them, you dont know how to use them. Ot does not matter if Teo played well or not in this position. You have two brilliant young defenders on your bench but yet you use Florenzi for a left back which we know he plays badly. And you use Calabria non stop despite the fact that you dont have an alternative except for the same Florenzi. No you need them to go out with injury before important matches instead of letting Simic and Bartezaghi play. This is disgusting
Ac milan moves to Three at the Back and Theo plays like Bastoni of inter Milan will be explosive down the wing and he creates good chances and movies fast and reads the game better.
I’m glad that Theo step up and offered the idea, imagine if he wasnt then that baldie probably gonna put Camarda as CB lmao
Frankly it’s poor form on Pioli’s part that they weren’t ready for Theo to step in as centre back during the Dortmund game.
There were several games in a row where the only two full squad CBs were Tomori and Thiaw. With Simic elevated from youth squad as the only CB on the bench. And then he wasn’t eligible for UCL.
Why didn’t Pioli have a better plan than Krunic to replace an injured CB for the Dortmund game?
Theo’s brother looks like they could be twins and he has played that position in some if the best teams in the world. Club and country.
Theo understands how to play in the last line and has world class ball distribution.
He’s not tall but he’s not tiny.
It was always going to work with the right mental preparation.
For Dortmund they had him and two full backs on the bench.
It had to be a better option for Theo to move into CB than bring on Krunic…
It’s not just hindsight that says so.
Really bad decision from Pioli