VladimVladimir Weiss head coach of Slovan Bratislavair Weiss slovan

Slovan boss Weiss admits Milan have ‘weaknesses’ after ‘boring’ Juventus game

Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images

Slovan Bratislava head coach Vladimir Weiss has admitted that he expects AC Milan to be very attacking against them, and explained why for the fans it is a bigger game than against Manchester City.

It will no doubt be one of the biggest games in the history of the Slovakian side as they welcome the seven-time winners of the European Cup/Champions League, hoping to pull off a major upset.

For Milan the ambition has to be to win the remaining four games in order to potentially secure a top eight spot and therefore direct qualification to the last 16 of the competition.

However, the last couple of games against Cagliari and Juventus either side of the break have exposed plenty of flaws, which Slovan will be aiming to exploit in front of their home fans.

Weiss was present at the National Stadium in Bratislava for his pre-match press conference on the eve of the match against Milan, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.

Kucka returns to the team…

“I was happy that he would come back quickly.”

Tomorrow’s match is reminiscent of 1992, is this the turning point in your career?

“City came here, now there’s Milan. The fans consider tomorrow’s match as the match. Football has developed a lot since 1992. Football is not a science, maybe we play well tomorrow. 12 years ago we sent Roma home, in 2010 Slovakia beat Italy, maybe we’ll be able to do better tomorrow.

“We are stronger than in the first Champions League matches and important players have returned to the squad.

“Fonseca came here a year ago with Lille and is bringing his philosophy to Milan, with a lot of verticalisation and he has a lot of sprinters, like Leao, Pulisic, there’s Abraham. We know what we have to be prepared for, we can’t wait.”

What weapons do Slovan have to hurt Milan?

“What do you say? I saw Milan-Juve. They are two very tactical teams and it was a match without opportunities. We have to try to do something while they attack. We must not be afraid, we must not lose the ball quickly, but every team has its weaknesses, even Milan.

“Milan won against Real and then didn’t beat Cagliari. Serie A has improved a lot, it is among the top three leagues in the world. We must not give Pulisic, Leao and Abraham, Loftus-Cheek, chances: all the players in the line-up are great players.”

What are your emotions heading into tomorrow’s match?

“It’s an honour for us to play against Milan and it’s an honour to play in the Champions League. We have no chance of going further, but we play against very strong teams.

“I used to say that City were the strongest team, but that’s no longer the case. Milan won against Real and that’s not an easy thing.”

Is it your final tomorrow?

“For us, every Champions League match is a final. I’m very happy that tomorrow we will play against Milan, they are one of the giants of football.”

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Who would you take out of the Milan side?

“The match against Juve was too tactical, there was too much respect and for the spectators it was a bit of a boring match. But not conceding a goal is also a strategy. If I could choose who to take away from Milan, it would be Pulisic.”

What are you expected from Milan?

“Milan will play to win. I expect an attacking team with all the best players, because Milan must win tomorrow if they want to advance.

“There is the Milan that won the derby and against Real and there is also a Milan that does not beat smaller teams. Fonseca is a very good coach, but the players must get used to his game.”

Tags AC Milan Slovan Bratislava Milan Vladimir Weiss

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