AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli believes that his side prevailed in a ‘strange match’ during which they made ‘technical mistakes’ that are not usually there.
After Miguel Veloso and Matteo Gabbia had each turned the ball into their own net in the first half making it 1-1 at the break, it was Sandro Tonali that was the hero at the Bentegodi for the second straight game in this fixture, scoring a winner inside the final 10 minutes.
Speaking on Milan TV, Stefano Pioli commented on the victory against Hellas Verona and the performance that produced the result.
“We knew they would have retraced the positions of last season, because they changed the technical direction but not the principles of their game. It was a strange match, in a sense. We started very well, we could also close it but then, instead, we stretched out, we made technical mistakes that we usually don’t make and we split the team a little bit in two,” he said (via MilanNews).
“We allowed Verona to counter a few too many times, but we had as usual, the ability to stay afloat in the difficulties, to stay in the game and then the quality of being able to win it with a great play.”
On having a rest week before Monza: “This is what we needed. We had not yet managed to win three games [in a row], and this is an important victory because it gives us continuity. Our numbers continue to improve, which are already excellent in the matches.
“This week we will have will be one of recovery and work, then a very important week awaits us with the league game, against Monza, then the two in the Champions League, and therefore we will have many matches in less than a month – 7 games – so it will be very important to recover and work.
“The next matches are very important given the progress of the league season and given the progress of the Champions League, where we are still fighting for everything.”
Milan are the only undefeated away team in Europe’s top five leagues: “I must say that I told the team just before entering the pitch and I bit my tongue a little because we were there along with City and Barcelona. It was in my mind that ‘there is no two without three’, so I tried to motivate the team by saying that we had the possibility to improve. We played with great stubbornness, with the right clarity, especially in difficult moments of the match.”
