Theo Hernandez has insisted that he and the rest of the AC Milan squad have always been united behind head coach Stefano Pioli, while he also commented on his new role.
Milan took care of business on Sunday lunchtime as they beat relegation-threatened Empoli 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud scored in the first half, with Chaka Traore coming off the bench to seal the victory late on.
Pioli made a number of changes from the heavily rotated side that beat Cagliari in midweek, with Mike Maignan, Simon Kjaer, Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud coming back in. Theo started again though, and at centre-back which has become his new role amid the injury crisis.
The Frenchman spoke to Sky at the end of the game against Empoli to reflect on what was a job well done, discussing the rumours surrounding Pioli and playing at centre-back, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
How big a win is that?
“We have a complicated period, but we are happy to have won. We did good things as a team, we never listened to what they said.”
What is it like playing centre-back?
“There are many injuries, the coach asked me if I was available to play central and I said yes. I’m happy, now we have to continue like this. Great match today, now let’s think about Wednesday.”
Are the team behind Pioli?
“We have always been with him. We don’t listen to what people say. We are with the coach until the end.”
Milan solidify third place with the win…
“We lost points that we shouldn’t have. We’ve had complicated months, now we’re back to winning. We look day by day, we don’t look at the table. We only think about getting points.”
Finally, a word on Alex Jimenez?
“I like him, he’s nice and tough, he’s fast. A little Theo? A little one (laughs).”
