AC Milan responded perfectly to Inter’s win over Juventus by beating Cagliari 2-0, and Stefano Pioli was happy with his side’s exploits.
It was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who had the decisive say in the game as he scored either side of the interval to ensure that the Rossoneri will be top at the half way point of the season.
Pioli spoke to Milan TV after the game, reflecting on the victory in Sardinian, with his words transcribed by MilanNews and translated below.
“All victories come with sacrifice and sweat. Limiting it to sacrifice alone is not fair for the players because it was a success achieved with quality. If we continue to play with heart and quality we can continue to do well,” he said.
On Ibrahimovic: “We are talking about an absolute champion of technique, tenacity and personality. He is giving us a great help and thanks to him our team-mates have grown. Without him we have shown that we are a team and are united. Ibrahimovic improves us and has allowed us to grow.”
On the red card for Saelemaekers: “The boy is growing up and he apologised to the whole team. He was heartbroken. I don’t want to defend him but they were two undeserved yellows. It is true that we need to be more calm and must grow from this mistake and not get caught up in the frenzy. He made this mistake in Naples too but I liked his attitude after the game.”
On Kjaer: “He wasn’t hurt but he has this problem that he can’t overcome and makes him play a bit stuck with the fear of getting hurt. I took it off as a precaution and I hope he can recover well for the match against Atalanta, considering the absences of Saelemaekers and Romagnoli.”
