AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has insisted that he and his team-mates feel the motivation to respond in the right way against Chelsea after the defeat last week.
As soon as the draw for the group stages came out Fikayo Tomori will have no doubt been itching to play against his former club Chelsea, where he spent many years in their academy and graduated to the first team.
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However, his return to Stamford Bridge was far from the statement he hoped to send as Milan were well beaten 3-0 by Graham Potter’s side and Tomori actually drew criticism for losing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the second goal.
Tomori put in a brilliant performance during the win over Juventus on Saturday night though and is no doubt very eager to have another crack at Chelsea, with the words from his press conference transcribed by MilanNews.
Was there a different celebration against Juventus than usual?
“Yes, after the match against Chelsea I was angry and I wanted to give everything on the pitch and when I scored the goal that was my feeling. I wanted to cancel the performance against Chelsea and I expressed how I felt.”
What was your reaction to the team’s response to the defeat in London?
“We knew we didn’t play well against Chelsea and we didn’t have the performance we are used to: we didn’t show what we could show. But it was good to react against Juventus with a great performance that allowed us to push that away. bad performance against Chelsea and we are here tomorrow to redeem ourselves.
“I always do my best in all matches. Last week I didn’t succeed but football always gives you a second opportunity that we want to make the most of. We will show that we can do much better. We don’t need motivation but we will push even harder.”
Are Chelsea less scary away from Stamford?
“No. We want to give everything on the pitch, we want to win every match. We have another opportunity to cancel the other match: it wasn’t the real Milan and it wasn’t me. We have to learn from last week and it’s important for the team’s growth. We have opportunities. to show that we are a strong team in front of our fans.”
What can you improve?
“Milan are a great club and I am proud to be here. We are a strong team and we know we can raise the level with the collective. When the coach communicates the team, we go out on the pitch to give everything and win the game.”
Is there a different reaction when you concede a goal in the league versus in the Champions League?
“When we concede a goal we always have the same reaction, we want to score and draw the match. Against Chelsea it wasn’t the real Milan and it wasn’t the reaction we wanted. We know we have to learn from this match. It’s the same thing in the league too, when we concede a goal we want to score as soon as possible.”
Are these matches also valuable for your national team hopes?
“In my opinion, every game is an opportunity to show that I want and can play for the national team. Southgate told me that I have to continue and that he watches every game. I know that I have to keep giving everything on the pitch and play as best I can, then the coach makes the decisions. Obviously I want to give my all to go to the World Cup and play for England.”
