Following the win against Venezia this afternoon, which is their second of the year, AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli spoke to the media about the situation. Obviously, he expressed his delight over the performance.
The Rossoneri took the lead after just three minutes through Zlatan Ibrahimovic and from there on, they controlled the game pretty well. Theo Hernandez bagged a brace in the second half and thus sealed the deal in the 3-0 win.
In an interview with Sky Italia, as cited by MilanNews, Pioli sharted his thoughts on the game and also the yellow card of Sandro Tonali. The midfielder will miss the game against Spezia but it also means he won’t miss Juventus or Inter.
On the victory…
“This must be the year of our confirmation, we must show that we are competitive again. We will see if we can also make the last step, therefore to be successful. It was not an easy game, we were good at making it simple. It was a team victory.”
On the growth of some individuals…
“We had an emergency period from November onwards, we had many injuries and we had to play the same players. We made good use of the break, we are happy with these two victories. We have to move forward like this.”
On the standings…
“Our fans must be proud of how the team plays and the spirit with which they take the field. We thank them for their closeness, it is a pity that there won’t be many in the next home games.”
On Tonali’s booking…
“These are game situations, we have been aggressive and therefore it can happen. It happens sooner or later that you get a yellow card, someone else will play against Spezia. The games are all worth three points, we don’t think about Juve or Inter.”
On being out of Europe…
“If it’s an advantage? It’s always better to stay in the competitions. We had a difficult group, but after Madrid, we still had a chance to go through. Clearly having weeks to work is a small advantage, but we are not happy that we aren’t in the Champions League anymore. There is a lot of talk about Inter last year, but it is not easy to make a 50-point second round as they did a year ago.”
On Milan’s awareness…
“Awareness came from all the experiences we are having, both positive and negative. Young people are becoming more mature. Theo, for example, has grown and is more mature than a year ago. We are a young team, but mentally we are more mature. There is still a long way to go to win, Allegri is right when he says Inter are the favourites and the others are more or less on the same level. We must continue to work on ourselves.”
Milan will take on Genoa in their next game at the San Siro. It’s the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia and thus the game will be played on Thursday evening at 21:00 CET.
READ MORE – Player Ratings: Venezia 0-3 AC Milan – Theo flawless; Leao productive again
