PIOLI: "CHANCE TO BUILD FORM"

Our first away day of the final month in 2023. The Rossoneri travel to Bergamo to take on Atalanta and are hoping to extend their current run of two straight wins in Serie A. Here's what Head Coach Stefano Pioli had to say ahead of the game:

THE ROSSONERI'S SEASON
"There's still a lot of football to be played before everything is decided, but we do need to put together a run of results in Serie A. That's what we're aiming for; it's our objective and, tomorrow, we have a great chance to do just that. We need to finish in the top four at a minimum but we're aiming higher."

ON TO BERGAMO
"Atalanta are always a tough team to face. They'll fight for Champions League football until the end. We'll be facing a complete side, which has quality, a big presence, intensity and midfielders who can chip in with a few goals. We know that they have it in them to come at us with aggression; we'll have to adapt to evade their press. We'll need to put in a top performance if we're to come away with all three points. De Ketelaere is playing in a more attacking role. He's a player with a lot of promise and should he play, we'll need to pay a lot of attention to him when we're defending."

ON BENNACER
"He needs a bit of time to get back to full fitness. I have no doubts about Isma's quality; he's a top player and it's only right that we set big aims for him to chase on a daily basis. He has a great personality and bags of ability. He just needs to get fully fit. He's made an exceptional comeback from injury. We're waiting for him to be at 100% so that we can do our best, together. I'm talking to him a lot about his position. We have clearly defined ideas."

ON JOVIĆ
"I'm certain of the fact that Luka is a talented player. He needs to keep working the way that he is and maintain the intensity, which is something that players need in modern football. Intensity on the pitch but also mental intensity. If he can keep this up, he can definitely be a big play for the team."

INDIVIDUALS AND ABSENCES
"Phases like this can happen in a season. The more players we have available, the better it is. Our final session today will be important for Leão. Kjær is back in training but needs to get back to full fitness. Okafor's recovery is progressing nicely but he won't be available for the game in Bergamo. Absences? I think this could be a great opportunity to show our worth and our cohesion, as well as our desire to work on finding solutions to overcome these issues."

A BATTLE OF THE COACHES
"I really admire Gasperini's consistency in his tactics. He's always given his teams a clear identity. I wouldn't steal any ideas from him because we all have our own philosophies and characteristics, but he's certainly an esteemed colleague of mine."

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
"I certainly think we can improve from set pieces and we are working on that. They are important situations which can change a game from a tactical and mental standpoint. Improvement in this area is an aim of ours. Our style of football has deep roots; I don't think it's so intense that we can't cope with three games a week. We want to compete in Italy and Europe, and we want to reach our goals by playing our own way."

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