AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni has said that the match against Genoa ‘put his heart at risk’ due to the dramatic ending of the game in Liguria.
Scaroni spoke to Sky Sport (via Milan News) in the wake of the game which ended with red cards for both goalkeepers and a late winner for the Rossoneri from Christian Pulisic.
Mike Maignan’s red card came when Milan had already used all of their substitutions, so that meant Olivier Giroud had to go in goal for the final few minutes of the game to protect the 1-0 lead.
The sending-off of Genoa’s goalkeeper made the task slightly easier, although they could put another goalkeeper on the pitch rather than use an outfield player.
“A fantastic thing I must say, he [Giroud] really parried. In my opinion it was a demonstration of a team spirit that I really liked. When you create that spirit nothing is impossible,” Scaroni said.
Scaroni was also asked about his objectives for the club going forward and he admitted that there is only one thing that he demands of the club each season.
“I have in mind that Milan must always be in the Champions League. That’s enough, I have no other goals. You tell me, do you like winning the Scudetto? Yes, very much. But it’s not our number one goal. We’re a big world club, we have to be in the Champions League because we want our fans around the world to see us. That’s how I reason. From that point of view being first is a step in that direction. Then I have to say that other games like the one last Saturday put my heart at risk, for the rest we’ve had some good games this term.”
He also confirmed that he will be at the next Derby della Madonnina: “There’s the return match, there will be Milan-Inter and I’ll go because it’s not an away match. I didn’t go to Inter-Milan because it was an away match, but I’ll go to Milan-Inter and I’m sure we’ll do very well.”
