PIOLI: "A DECISIVE PERIOD IS BEGINNING"

It’s time to return to the pitch. After the latest round of international fixtures, AC Milan are set to return to the pitch for their final match of what has been a perfect March so far. Awaiting the Rossoneri is a big showdown away to Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina on matchday 30 in Serie A. This is what Coach Stefano Pioli had to say during his pre-match press conference at Milanello today:

FIORENTINA’S COMPLICATED MOMENT
"It’s not the first time that Fiorentina have experienced a complicated situation. Florence and the team’s fans are fantastic when there is a need to come together to overcome difficult moments like a bereavement. We expect a special atmosphere at the start in memory of a person who did so much for the club. Then, there will be an important match to play against a strong side.”

THE MATCH
"Fiorentina are a strong side and only narrowly lost to Inter at home. It’s a difficult ground to play at, and we want to do better than we have in the past there. I expect them to be aggressive, attacking and direct. How the game pans out will depend on the quality with which the two sides implement their game plans. Our approach won’t change: we’ll try to take the game to our opponents. We know that our results after previous international breaks haven’t met our expectations. But the situation is different every time, and we were missing players when we returned to the pitch in past months. We’ve worked well in the past couple of weeks, and our internationals have returned in good condition.”

ROSSONERI INTERNATIONALS
"They’ve all returned in good shape. Kjær won’t feature tomorrow but only as a precaution. Christian played the most minutes during the international window, but he’s in good condition and, together with Musah, achieved an important victory with the United States."

INDIVIDUALS
"Bennacer has made good use of the recent period and could start tomorrow. I think Terracciano initially struggled to adjust to San Siro and the prestige of playing for such a team, but he’s also ready to play. Oli is fired up, determined and also calm: he’s doing well. Nobody is thinking about next season and the future; we’re all focused on the upcoming period. We know that the next two months will determine the outcome of this campaign. Theo will be a big miss for us; he’s been a key figure for us in the past few months. We’ll play with different characteristics and will need to make the most of Florenzi’s qualities, which are different to those of Hernández but still important."

TACTICAL POSSIBILITIES
"In Verona, I selected Noah because I thought there would be the space in behind to make the most of his characteristics. He’s doing well both centrally and down the left. I think Isma is the strongest midfielder we have in defensive one-on-one situations, but he can still improve in his reading of certain situations. Perhaps Adli isn’t as good in one-on-ones, but he reads the game well.”

REIJNDERS’ FORM
"He’s a player who is on the way to completing his game. He can become a very complete midfielder and is really focusing on his off-the-ball work. He’s already a high-quality player and a starter for AC Milan, and he’s also becoming one for the Dutch national team. He has room for improvement, and I think he’ll make strides forward thanks to his work and ability."

ONE GAME AT A TIME
"A decisive period is about to begin. We’ll need to focus on playing the best football we can as we look to improve the level of our performances with two very important months in store. We have nine league matches remaining, and we hope we’ll also be involved in five more Europa League fixtures. Every game will be important, starting from Fiorentina. They’re a team that have often caused us problems. It’s only normal to talk about the future when there’s an international break, but I’m focused on doing the best I can in the next 60 days so we can finish the season in the best way possible. Conclusions can only be drawn at the end, so we’ll take it one game at a time."

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