Stefano Pioli, ahead of the match against Inter in the coppa Italia, gave an interview to Milan TV:
"The Coppa Italia is a seperate competition. It is easier to prepare for being sudden death: whether it's 90 minutes or 120 minutes, it's a single match. It is a different cup game but we care about it. The league is a different story."
"The next derby after this one will take place in a month with other important matches before it. This is just a Coppa Italia match, an important quarter-final that we try to face in the best possible way. It is clear that there are opponents to face, dangerous opponents, but the will will certainly be to return to the field with a positive performance."
"We will do everything to get to the end, because in the end all the great teams of the league find themselves playing the quarter-finals. Of course we weren't particularly lucky in the draw, because ours is, let's say, the strongest challenge. But if you want to win the Italian Cup you have to face them all. We definitely care and will do our best."
"As for the injured Bennacer is better but will be available for next Saturday's match against Bologna. Hakan is not yet available and we had a couple of problems with Mandzukic, Kalulu and Tonali with Saturday's game. Only tomorrow morning will we know if they will be available for tomorrow night's match."
What remains of the first half of the calendar:
"There remains the 43 points of the first round as well as the 41 points of the second round of the last championship which is still part of our path. There remains a solid and competitive team. If you can't maintain certain levels then you risk succumbing to these opponents. Our goal now is to make an even greater effort to try to maintain the same result in the second round."
Did you sleep after Atalanta's defeat?
“I didn't sleep because I watched the match and because I believe that communication with the team the next day is very important in my work. I sleep shortly after the games, both after the ones I won and after the ones I lost because I think knowing how to say the right things to the team is the most important thing. We have little time and play a lot, so communication must be immediate. I made my assessments and the day after I reported them to the team."
On Tomori:
"He is a very intelligent and curious boy. He comes from a different football, my English is good but not great. He is careful. We have many of his companions who speak the language well. He has nice features, nice qualities, it's clear he's only done two training sessions. It will take some time to integrate into our mechanisms in the best possible way."
On the pressure:
"I believe that having pressure is a privilege in our job. It means having reached a specific level, we want to stay there. Pressures are welcome. We aim to be ambitious to win all games. When we fail, we must work even harder to make sure it doesn't happen again. Pressure is a privilege. We have to live with it. Indeed, we want these pressures because we are in a great club. It is normal that there are expectations."
