In an interview with Dazn, AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli spoke about the team’s performance against Cagliari and the mercato.
On the joy of having the fans back at the stadium and on the performance. “It’s great to have our fans. Having them back in Genoa against Sampdoria was great but having them here was even better. The team played with pace and quality and had clear ideas. The boys now hear me less on the sideline but I think they are happier like this“.
On the growth of Tonali and the possibility of playing with two strikers. “Sandro has worked a lot. Strange things happen in football because on the first day of our gathering I found Tonali, Leao and Krunic matured and grown a lot. They needed some past lessons to learn in the future. Tonali has everything: he has good feet, positioning and quality. Now we have to continue like this. Playing with two strikers? I am open to all solutions, I will try to field the best possible team. Bakayoko has not signed yet but he will be one of us. I hope to recover all the important players because we will have many important commitments with 7 matches in 20 days. We have to be well and work with this will”
About managing such a young group of players. “I believe that if we want to have a positive future, all players must feel like regular starters. I’m struggling to make choices also because important players will return, maybe two new players will arrive from the mercato. The Champions League group stage will be difficult but stimulating with complicated opponents and it will be important to grow without being afraid of making mistakes and learning from our mistakes”.
On the performance in attack. “In all the friendlies there was a situation that repeated itself. We made great performances but we scored few goals. Today scoring a lot means that we moved with quality, clarity and we were more concrete. There will be difficult games but the strong teams must win even if they play poorly”.
About what he told Rafael Leao. “Leao wanted to play the whole match and I told him to keep working like this. I’m sure he will have a great season“.
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