PIOLI: "WE'LL NEED CLARITY OF MIND AND PRECISION"

The penultimate matchday in Serie A and the final away game of the season is fast approaching for the Rossoneri, as they put in the final preparations for Wednesday’s trip to Genoa. With one day left until Sampdoria v AC Milan, Coach Pioli gave his pre-match thoughts in a press conference at Milanello. Here’s everything he had to say:

AFTER ATALANTA
“We’re very happy with our performance, our opponents were at the very top level but we matched them from start to finish. We played as a team, showing excellent energy levels and compactness. Now we have to give everything in these last two games.”

AHEAD OF SAMPDORIA
“Sampdoria are a team in good form, they’ll have clear heads because they’ve already secured safety. Ranieri’s done a brilliant job. They played well against Juve. It will be tough, also from a tactical point of view, and we’ll need clarity of mind and technical precision. We created a lot in the reverse fixture but didn’t manage to score, we also gave them too many chances to hit us on the counter.”

THE TEAM
“The number of goals we’re scoring is the statistic that’s changed the most. We’ve changed our line-up, our style of play, our level of conviction and our faith in ourselves. We have to try and keep moving forwards, to finish the campaign in the best way possible. I’m asking my players for one last push; the details will make the difference and we’ll need to be fully focused. Then next season we’ll have to build on the results we’ve been getting.”

THE RACE FOR FIFTH PLACE
“We still believe we can get fifth place; we have to earn as many points as possible until the end. It’s not just up to us, but we have to give everything and win our games. That starts from the Marassi, where we’ll need a big performance. Coming fifth would make the difference, especially in the month of September because we’d have lots of games right away, even though the date of our first fixture would be the same regardless. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready.”

INDIVIDUALS
“Ibrahimović has provided us with plenty of new options on the pitch, both physically and technically. He brought a decisive boost in terms of mentality and character. Kjær’s doing extremely well, he was an important signing and he’s been a great help to the team since January. Castillejo, Paquetá and Duarte are all doing well too, Samu had a bit of a run-out against Atalanta and he’ll be in the squad for tomorrow. It’s a shame that we’re missing Romagnoli and Conti and it means that we’ll be limited for options in defence.”

THE FUTURE
“Contract renewals for Ibrahimović, Donnarumma and Çalhanoğlu? The Club wants to take care of these situations as soon as possible. We’re meeting next week, right now we’re focused on the league. Then we’ll have the time we need to figure out the team for next season. We’re all behind AC Milan.”

THE NEW KIT
“I saw it yesterday, it’s very, very nice. It captures the history of both the Club and the city and we’ll be wearing it for our final game against Cagliari. I hope it brings us back to the successes of the past.”

The new Home Kit for the 2020/21 season is now available to buy on the AC Milan Online Store!