PIOLI: "A DIFFICULT TEST AWAITS US"

After Thursday's Europa League outing, we return to Serie A. There's no time to rest for Stefano Pioli's AC Milan side, who take on Roma at San Siro. The Giallorossi are a tough opponent, though they come to Milan with the Rossoneri in red-hot form, fresh from their win in the Derby. Three points will be essential to strengthen their grip on top spot and to further bolster the convictions of a group in constant growth. Stefano Pioli knows this full well. Ahead of the game, he gave his usual press conference at Milanello.

AC MILAN V ROMA
"It’s an important match, also with the league table in mind. We’ve started well and want to continue in this manner. This will be a tough test, and we want to pass it. We’re only focused on ourselves and are taking it one game at a time. We’ll be up against a strong side who have won five out of their last six away fixtures. Fonseca did really well during his first season in Italy and demonstrated that he has some excellent ideas. They’ve now added some excellent players to their squad, like Kumbulla and Pedro for example. Like us, Roma are an ambitious team, and it shouldn’t be forgotten that they finished ahead of us last season. We need to approach the game in an excellent manner and play with determination.”  

THE TEAM
"We needed to raise the competition levels within the squad, and the Club did well to reinforce the team with young players who possess quality. So far, we’ve managed to deal with the many absences we’ve had, and it’s important to have many starters in the squad. We need everyone’s contribution: it’s vital to choose the best starting line-up, but the five substitutions that are available to us and the players we have on the bench are both hugely important aspects in every game. Never before has it been possible to change games to such an extent while they are taking place. We can still improve from a collective, individual, tactical and technical point of view. We need to work on understanding certain moments during matches better, and we also need to improve our game management when we’re in front, as we were at Celtic Park in the second half."

THE TEAM’S LEVEL AND AMBITIONS
“My players are young but are also mature: there are some big personalities in this squad. The important thing is the attitude we show and to continue to work to become a greater and more ambitious side. We’ve managed to raise our level, this is great but it means that we still need to offer even more. The team is aware of its abilities, we need to maintain this mentality and remain level-headed. We want to improve on our sixth-place finish last season and, step by step, move ahead of the teams that have previously been doing better than us.”

INDIVIDUALS
“Ibrahimović and Džeko are able to create despite being centre-forwards, we need to display our qualities out on the pitch and try to stop the ball reaching Edin. Zlatan gives us different solutions in attack. Rebić and Çalhanoğlu are doing better: while Ante won’t be involved tomorrow, we’ll see how Hakan is feeling, but it’s difficult to say. Donnarumma is more mature than his age, he has developed steadily and continuously. He’s displaying great professionalism and willingness and is improving in every respect. He’s a high-quality goalkeeper and can still improve considerably. I’m not worried about his contract situation, I know that the Club is making precise steps. It wasn’t easy for Tonali in Glasgow at the beginning, but then he grew into the game. He’s a mature and strong player who is ready, he just needs to get into optimum condition. For me, he’s a starter. Krunić can play in a defensive midfield role but has the characteristics to play further up the pitch. Our attacking playmaker needs to work hard and attack space. I’m happy that he managed to score, also because it was a situation that we continually work on in training.”

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