Spalletti explains ‘risk’ when playing against Milan: “Leao pretends to be asleep”

Speaking at full-time of AC Milan vs. Juventus, Luciano Spalletti seemed pretty pleased with his team’s result and their ability to shut Rafael Leao down.

Sunday’s game went largely as most expected it to. Neither Milan nor Juventus really looked like they wanted to win, or better yet, needed to. In fairness, they didn’t. A draw has helped both secure their Champions League positions a little more and that is only a good thing.

It also crosses off another strong opposition for both teams. Heading into the final fixtures of the season, this is only a good thing. Points are not easy to pick up, so if you get a free one from a potentially dangerous game, neither manager would turn it down.

So, the game was low drama and a pretty poor showing. Both managers will be pleased, though.

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Spalletti’s review on Milan-Juventus

After the full time whistle, Spalletti spoke to the media in a press conference and MilanNews have relayed his words.

Could more have been done?

“I don’t know. I’ll read his comment tomorrow to see if this is a point gained or lost. I know we tried to control the game.

“I think we played intelligently, always staying organized. But there’s always a risk with Milan. They deceive you, they create these hiding places and then they appear in places you didn’t think anyone was there.

“We had to stay organized, always balanced. In the first half we were slow, in the second half we tried harder, but then we had to take something from this match. We did the right thing, so I’m satisfied.”

What did you like least?

“We have more potential. We need to prove ourselves in matches, play for the future, be the kind of team that always explores something new, that always creates situations that take the opponent by surprise: tonight we didn’t do much in this regard.

“Of course, we have two or three players who can create these things here who aren’t training consistently, so we have to be careful. We also did some good things in the second half.

“This result is fair, we know we have to compete against strong teams that are there ready to attack you if you lose ground.”

How is Vlahovic?

“He came to train with us a day ago. We need to think carefully about his use. Our future depends on four games; it’s not a one-or-done situation. So everything needs to be done thoughtfully and carefully, because the team is in a position to play without him.

“David played a great match; we tried to score goals. We accept this draw, which is a good result for us.”

Did your rivals’ results influence you?

“If we had been affected, the reaction would have been stronger. With our opponents coming close, our reaction would have been to jump on us to regain the right distance. I don’t know if the team has this maturity here.

“We still have to work on some things, we have to implement some changes in our game and in our behavior. We play well in possession, we lose something in the tackle phase, maybe we make a nice surge, then we miss easy balls.

“We need to find a stable balance up top. We absolutely shouldn’t have lost the game today: it seemed to me that we cared more about not losing the game than winning it.”

How is Yildiz?

“I haven’t seen him at all this week. He came in yesterday morning for a quick game, five minutes plus five minutes. He trained very little after that. After the first couple of sprints, he was out of breath. In the meantime, we’re happy to have him back.”

You almost never gave Milan any depth…

“We were very careful about this detail, because against Milan it’s risky: when everything seems harmless, Leao pretends to be asleep, one eye open and one closed, then he starts again and we’re off…

“He’s a guy with indefensible tears. We had to pay attention to these details. Leao is like that: we had to keep our eyes on him at all times.”