Luigi Riccio, the assistant of AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso, has revealed the reasoning behind giving the squad Monday off.
Riccio is on media duties for the Rossoneri while Gattuso serves his touchline ban, though Rino is expected to be back in the dugout for Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina.
“It is important for us to rest the team mentally towards the derby, which is why we prefer to leave one day more free than a classic session of work,” Riccio revealed.
“It is crucial to always unwind after days of heavy load or games, then we will resume with targeted work for Inter, trying to get in the best possible condition, but players have still come to Milanello, they take care of themselves or have therapy.
“If someone wants to improve on a technical level, or fix some physical situation, we are always used to that.”
On Bakayoko: “The data tells us that from a physical aspect the team, in all its elements, is fine. Consecutive games is probably something that will affect the mental level but not the physical.
“Barayoko, for example, he played many consecutive games, he almost told us not to rest him for the match [against Chievo on Sunday].
“We will also do for others like Calabria that have had no physical drops, but it is necessary to keep it out of the way every now and then to be always at the top mentally, so we will arrive at the end of the season with as many starters as possible, even 18 or 19 player fully involved frequently.”
Krzysztof Piatek added to his impressive tally since joining Milan with his winner on Saturday, making it six goals in seven Serie A appearances since arrive in January.
“Piatek immediately joined our group, this has sped up his adaptation and performance on the pitch, making everything easier in front of him, but he has very high capacity for improvement.”
