AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli congratulated his side for their sensational comeback against Juventus and the spirit they showed in testing times.
Milan produced a stunning second-half comeback at San Siro on Tuesday night as they recovered from 2-0 down to beat the league-leaders 4-2.
After a goalless first half it looked as though the Bianconeri would secure a seventh straight win over Milan as Adrien Rabiot and Cristiano Ronaldo struck before the hour mark.
The Rossoneri roared back however, netting three times in just over five minutes through a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty and two excellent strikes from Franck Kessie and Rafael Leao.
Ante Rebic had the final say in a thrilling encounter as he continued his ridiculous run of form and Milan won to rise into fifth above both Roma and Sunday’s opponents Napoli.
Pioli was interviewed by DAZN after the game, with his comments transcribed by MilanNews.
“I congratulate my players, they are showing an incredible spirit, even from the difficulties there is a desire to react, they have been rewarded by a great result and a great victory,” he said.
“We have carried out our ideas to achieve an important goal, until recently the ranking did not reflect our qualities, we got back together, the team is doing well above all mentally.
“We have not done anything yet, the next games will be very demanding, we must immediately think of Napoli. Satisfaction yes but also concentration, we must stay on the spot. If possible we must also improve, in the past we paid duties and learned from our mistakes.”
On his future: “I am not thinking at all about August 3, I am thinking about the match against Napoli. We have become a team, we know each other well.
“I am not thinking about what will happen on August 3 because I am too happy with the team, what will be will be, I am not worried about what my future will be. It would not be right to take away satisfaction for the work we are doing.
“I expect to finish the season well and to hit the goal for which we have been called. We have also had delicate moments, sometimes we have not managed to collect important results.
“My desire is to coach, I like what I do, I found a team that I am fine with, then we will see what it will be on August 3. I am not thinking about my future, the expenditure of energy is important, I cannot spend energy to think about situations that don’t depend only on me.”
On the physical condition of the squad: “The work of the staff was also important during the lockdown, even in precarious conditions the players never missed the collective sessions, even those who only had a treadmill or an exercise bike.
“The team now knows each other more, they have a proactive attitude even when they are defending. Anything can happen and we must still be very careful, the opponents that await us are only difficult.”
On the comeback: “We were good at exploiting the penalty incident, from there we found conviction. Sorry for the goals we conceded, we could defend much better. In the first half we were good on the field, the game was balanced. We were surprised on the first goal and also on the second we had to defend better.”
