PIOLI: "WE HAVE TO PLAY WITH INTENSITY AND CONVICTION"
It’s the eve of a highly anticipated and fascinating European clash: tomorrow evening, Manchester United v AC Milan will take place at Old Trafford. Ahead of the game, Coach Stefano Pioli held a press conference.
STATE OF PLAY
"As a result of the past week, we should feel more certain and have more confidence in our abilities. We’ve prepared with the aim of repeating a great performance tomorrow evening. Being a team in both phases of the game is always our starting point: the more compact we are, the better we’ll be in both defence and attack. There’s a choice to make: either get swept away by negative waves or ride the positive ones. We’ve chosen to ride the current one as we look to put in a good performance against a good side."
THE OPPONENTS
"They impressed me on Sunday, managing to beat a fantastic team in City and producing a performance where they showed great intensity and quality. This isn’t an early final, rather a prestigious tie between two historic sides. These matches need to be played with conviction and respect. We’ll be up against a team that was originally involved in a Champions League group containing PSG and Leipzig."
MANCHESTER AGAIN
"We’re working to return to being successful again, to fulfil our dreams. As Maldini said a while ago, we need to play in the Champions League for a couple of years in order to grow, think about competing at certain levels and win trophies. The road ahead is still long, but we need to show this conviction and enthusiasm along the way."
INDIVIDUALS
"I’m very happy with Dalot’s performances and growth. His future? We’re only focused on our upcoming matches, and it won’t be up to me to make these decisions. Donnarumma? Gigio is crucial for us, both when we defend and during our build-up play. The performance he produces will be very important for us tomorrow."
(Photo Getty Images)
