AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali has said that head coach Stefano Pioli deserves the contract renewal that was confirmed on Monday and also feels that the Rossoneri should not be afraid of facing RB Salzburg.
Speaking during his press conference (via Milan News) ahead of the big Champions League clash, the Italian midfielder was quickly asked about the contract extension that the coach has signed.
He explained how it is a deserved contract and then focused on the preparations in the early part of the week for the match at San Siro.
“We congratulated the coach on his renewal; he deserves it. On the match; we worked on it a lot. We must take the field without thinking that we can also draw. It’s difficult but as mature players we must understand that the match is to be won,” Tonali said.
A win or draw will see Milan into the next round of the Champions League.
Milan have been on a very long path under Pioli to get to the last 16 of the Champions League, a path that started in a previous season in the preliminaries of the Europa League against Shamrock Rovers.
Tonali explained that the team deserves to get to that next stage together after such a long journey.
“I think it’s a path we deserve and one that represents all of us over the years we have spent together. We started in the Europa League preliminaries and we’ve come this far. We know that we are in an important moment of the season and that it gives us the chance to improve and reach the first goal of the season,” he said.
The former Brescia also confidently claimed that Milan should not be afraid of playing Salzburg because they know they can win, even if the Austrians have quality.
“Before this game we should not be afraid. It is right that there is pressure and we know that Salzburg is a very strong team with specific characteristics. We have worked a lot on them and on ourselves. Fear must be left aside and we have to put attention and concentration on the pitch,” the midfielder stated.
On the mistakes in Torino
“A bad night can happen and it happened to be that we didn’t know how to manage the key moments of the match, especially after the first goal. As we showed especially after Napoli, we have to be able to react to defeats. We have to go on the pitch and leave everything that has been so far behind.”
How did the team handle the defeat?
“Sometimes with so little time available it’s better to immediately prepare for the next game, which is always the most important. We saw what went wrong but we focused on working on ourselves as we do every week.”
On the emotions of the match
“It’s not just me who dreams of experiencing these emotions tomorrow, but the whole team. We know how important tomorrow’s game is. Last year we didn’t manage to get through and this year we are working to achieve that goal. We will play with a lot of desire and emotion.”
Rafael Leao
“Leao is well and should not be judged on a single game. He is fine and even today he was very calm and has no problems whatsoever.”
Favourite Champions League night
“Excluding the finals, it was AC Milan vs Manchester United, 3-0 at the San Siro. One of the matches I remember best and which excites me most.”
