AC Milan boss Sergio Conceicao was pleased with his side after our comeback at Genoa to secure a 2-1 win, as he praised Rafael Leao following his crucial impact off the bench.
The Rossoneri fell behind on the hour mark as we struggled to find a breakthrough at the Marassi, while Mike Maignan was key in keeping us in the game with some decisive saves.
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Two goals in two minutes turned the encounter around in our favour as we went on to seal the three points, which in turn continues our positive form in recent weeks as we build up to the Coppa Italia Final next week.
Racking up victories will no doubt please Conceicao as we build momentum and confidence, but the Milan boss was particularly happy with the response from his players and their ability to execute the gameplan, regardless of system, after all the hard work put in on the training pitch at Milanello.
“We always try to improve,” he said in his post-match press conference, as per MilanNews. “We work on an individual and collective level. We work a lot. We started the game with a usual game system but we finished the game in a different way. And nobody talks about this.
“The players gave a good response and this means that we have a group that believes in what we do at Milanello. I am happy about this. Maybe I don’t show it, but inside I am happy with the response of these guys who believe in what we do.
“In the game plan in the first half we could have done better in possession. We played against a difficult team to face on a difficult pitch. The opponent has the quality. However, we could have looked for more depth. On the goal we conceded, collectively, we could have done something more.”
Meanwhile, Conceicao made a key decision to leave Leao on the bench for this game, albeit the Portuguese winger came on midway through the first half anyway after Youssouf Fofana suffered an injury setback.
The 25-year-old drew us level as his deflected effort found the back of the net, while he was instrumental in the build-up to our winning goal too as he made a decisive impact to help us turn things around and secure the win.
Conceicao will have to do without him on Friday against Bologna as Leao serves a suspension after picking up a yellow card in this encounter, but the Milan boss is pleased with the work ethic and attitude he’s seeing from his star man as he continues to play a pivotal role for us.
“I already knew him,” Conceicao noted. “Now I know him very well and he knows well. He knows what I want and he is focused on finishing the season well. I see a very important attitude. That is the basis because then he has the quality. I’m sorry that he won’t be there on Friday but there will be another because the response that the boys give me is important.”
On Santiago Gimenez, he added: “He too, in the most difficult moments, is one of the first to arrive at Milanello. He has the quality. It’s a question of time. Adapting in Italy is not easy for anyone.”
