AC Milan’s game against Dinamo Zagreb tonight provides Ante Rebic with the chance to revisit his home country, an opportunity he is relishing.
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Milan were sat atop the group heading into the two meetings against Chelsea, but after losing both games by an aggregate score of 5-0 Milan have now slipped into third spot and need to win against Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg to make absolutely certain of reaching the knockouts.
The first challenge comes tonight at the Stadion Maksimir against a team that have not lost at home all calendar year and have already taken four points from Chelsea and Salzburg on their home patch, while the Rossoneri have one once away from home in the competition since 2013-14.
Rebic was interviewed by SportMediaset on the day of the match against Dinamo, with his comments relayed by MilanNews and translated below.
On his emotions in returning to play in Croatia: “I don’t have many emotions, I come from the south of Croatia. Here I have many friends, but for me it is a match like any other.”
On the match: “They have not lost for many months at home. They have also beaten strong teams here. We know what awaits us, we have prepared well and therefore we hope to bring home the three points.”
On Dinamo’s strengths: “They play at home and will have more confidence in the match than they did in Milan. But nothing changes for us, we want to win and go through.”
On his moment: “It would be nice to decide the game, but the important thing is to win. It doesn’t change anything for me to play from the first minute or enter a game in progress, I always give my best.”
