PIOLI: "EVERY GAME IS AN OPPORTUNITY"

Strengthened from three consecutive league wins, the Rossoneri will head to Udine to keep up a good run. Udinese v AC Milan is not to be underestimated, it requires maximum focus. Stefano Pioli spoke in a press conference ahead of the game scheduled for Saturday 20 January at 20:45 CET. This is what the Head Coach had to say on the eve of the game:

EXPERIENCE WITH UDINESE
"We are different teams than in the past, it doesn't matter what has happened before, only tomorrow's game. We are both on a good run of form".

THE HOME GAME
"There were many things we could have done better in the home game earlier this season, especially with the penalty when we were distracted. I hope that it taught us something for the game in Udine".

JOURNEY IN THE LEAGUE
"We need to have desire and clarity to always perform at the maximum level, the league is difficult, but we want to do better than in the first half of the season. We shouldn't be looking back, we have worked well, but what counts now is the performance in Udine. There aren't games defined by region or the map, each one is worth three points, and we want to walk away with all of them".

ADLI IN RECENT MONTHS
"Yacine has always been attentive and involved, he never lacked the right attitude even when he didn't pick up many minutes. We have changed some positions on the pitch and, speaking with him in the summer, he was readily available to play in a new role. He has worked a lot, I believe that he isn't finished adapting, but the recent performances have been at a really high level".

RAFA'S FORM
"We have the second-best attack and Rafa is an important player for us even when he doesn't manage to get anything as an individual. He creates space for the others, and he needs to try and find different spaces in more closed, deeper defences. He is fundamental in our attack".

THE DEFENSIVE ASPECT OF THE MIDFIELD
"The squad needs to work all together on the defensive phase, it takes attention and the ability to communicate. Adli and Reijnders have been very good at covering us, only with the Roma penalty did they open up too soon, but they have worked well together the rest of the time".

AGGRESSIVE RECOVERIES
"The full weeks of work allow us to lay out personalised programmes based on skills and position. Recoveries are a key focus for us, we can improve on winning the ball back aggressively which was our strong suit at different points and something we can push further, especially tomorrow. One of the key features of Udinese is their quick breaks, attacking and shutting down any opposition action will be extremely important".

INJURIES
"We will take stock of the injury situation at the end of the month with the medical staff when we need to establish a list for UEFA".

KJÆR AND THE STATS
"I know Simon's statistics well because I hear about them a lot. He is an evocative and technical leader, he speaks well and a lot on the pitch, he knows how to get into positions, but it is too soon to speak about his future".

TRANSFER WINDOW
"The Club knows what we need, and the priorities haven't changed. The defender we need is strong, solid, able to defend, set things up and get involved going forward. If an opportunity arises there could be an addition in the midfield, we have lost Krunić, Pobega is injured and Bennacer is involved in the African Cup of Nations".

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