PIOLI: "WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MOMENT"

After four points from their first two Serie A matches in 2020, the Rossoneri are set to return to San Siro with the desire to get back to winning ways on home soil in the league. Their opponents on matchday 20 will be Udinese, who surprised AC Milan by running out 1-0 winners when the two teams met at the start of the season. With the team having put the finishing touches to their preparations and the squad list having been announced, Coach Pioli spoke about tomorrow’s 12:30 CET kick-off during his pre-match press conference. His words were broadcast live on the AC Milan Official App, Facebook and Milan TV.

THE TEAM’S DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE
"The team is working hard, we’ve found a certain amount of balance and are maintaining this with a different system. Everyone is actively trying to put pressure on the opponent. The secret is to have clear playing principles, the whole team needs to help in the defensive phase. I’m convinced that we can do even better."

THE FANS
"The fans are showing incredible support, we need to try to gain enthusiasm and strength, to give a lot to have a lot. We need to do better in the next 19 matches than we did during the first half of the season, which wasn’t up to AC Milan standards."

THE TEAM’S FORM
"We’re feeling good, it’s necessary for us to take advantage of this moment to improve our league position. Tomorrow provides the first opportunity to do so. We’ve worked well and fixed many small details, the team has grown."

GIGIO DONNARUMMA’S CONDITION
"Gigio is in the matchday squad and is fine. He’s trained, is motivated and I believe that he can play."

IBRA’S PRESENCE
"Zlatan is demonstrating that he’s an added asset to this team, I’m lucky to have such a player at my disposal. He always wants to win, including in training. This helps to improve the quality of our training sessions, and this is another reason why we brought him on board. This is the right attitude when you play for AC Milan."

TRANSFER MARKET AND INJURIES
"We’re in a bit of an emergency, I was hoping that we’d get a couple more players back for Udinese. The players in the squad are doing well, they’re motivated and ready to help the team. We have an important match ahead of us."

INDIVIDUALS
"Castillejo is getting back to the right condition and consistency, he needs to take advantage of every available opportunity. I believe in Suso, he has the qualities to be an important player. Calhanoglu has suffered a muscular injury, I’d prefer not to risk him and I hope that he can recover for the next match. Paquetà is a great player. He’s training well but can’t be completely satisfied, just like everyone else who isn't starting. Begovic was brought in to be our second choice between the sticks and in these first few days he’s proving himself to be an excellent goalkeeper. I’m also very happy with Antonio Donnarumma, he’s always ready and always works very hard and seriously."

UDINESE
"We're playing a team which is doing well, with a new coach who is also doing well. Since Gotti has been in the Udinese dugout, they’ve had an excellent average points total. They’re a physical team and difficult to beat."

Remember that tickets are on sale for the home games against Udinese, Hellas Verona, Roma and Juventus. Buy yours now and save with our mini game packs! See you at San Siro!