AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli spoke to the media ahead of our clash with Genoa on Sunday, as he assessed our opponents and delivered team news.
The Rossoneri currently sit in second place in the Serie A standings with a four-point gap between us and fifth-placed Napoli.
READ MORE: How Milan could line up vs Genoa: Leao to replace Ibrahimovic, two key changes
With eight games remaining, we simply can’t drop points between now and the end of the season, and Pioli is fully aware of the threat that Genoa pose this weekend. As noted by La Gazzetta dello Sport this week, Gianluca Scamacca is a name being linked with us this summer, and the Milan boss is aware of the danger that he brings along with his teammates.
“Genoa are a complete, physical side,” he told the media, as noted by the club’s official site. “They’re not a team that plays possession-based football: they go for a more direct approach instead. Genoa are doing well, also thanks to their new coach. Scamacca is a very promising youngster with well-defined characteristics, but they have other strong attackers.”
Milan’s form at San Siro has been poor in 2021, with two wins, three draws and four losses in our last nine outings in Serie A, and so that has to improve between now and the end of the campaign.
Pioli revealed that he has been busy assessing our shortcomings at home, and he’ll hope that they can be addressed starting this weekend as we continue to battle for Champions League qualification and thus can’t afford to drop any more points.
“We want to return to winning ways at San Siro, a win at home has been missing for a while now,” he added. “We need to produce a high-quality display where we make precise choices. We’ve analysed our home fixtures in detail, and often we haven’t done very well in the final quarter of the pitch, including in terms of the conviction we’ve shown.
“It’s in that part of the field that matches are decided. We’ll need to be attentive and determined, while our approach will have to be more aggressive and intense. Taking the lead is something which can make the difference.”
Pioli also discussed the team as he singled out specific individuals with Rafael Leao set to step in for the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic this weekend, while Franck Kessie continues to earn deserved plaudits for his form.
As confirmed by the club on Saturday, captain Alessio Romagnoli is back in the squad this weekend after returning from his recent spell on the sidelines due to injury, although Davide Calabria is still ruled out.
Nevertheless, Pioli also focused on the more positive developments with praise for the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Diogo Dalot.
“The team have been very focused: they’ve done everything to prepare for tomorrow’s match in the best possible fashion. Every game is a test. Our future is now: we must only think about the pitch, the Club will take care of the rest. There’s too much talk about other things.
“We’re aiming to qualify for the Champions League, an objective that hasn’t been achieved for several years. We’re halfway up the climb, we can’t raise our heads but have to continue pedalling hard. We mustn’t expend energy on other matters, including refereeing decisions.
“In terms of his desire and decisiveness, Leão has made great strides forward in his day-to-day work and during matches. Knowing how to come on and decide matches is an important quality. Thanks to their movement, and also with the characteristics of the opposition in mind, Leão and Rebić could be very dangerous.
“Kessie has become a complete player, he knows how to stitch play together and has improved in terms of his ball distribution. He’s reached a very high level but can still grow. Tomori has had a great impact. Ibrahimović has been attentive and fully involved. Dalot has always trained very well, just like the rest of his teammates. Whether he plays or not depends on the choices that are made.”