AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli, spoke to the media today during the press conference ahead of the game against Spezia tomorrow, valid for matchday 6 of the Serie A.
"I think it is beyond any doubt that with the help of our fans the matches can also be adjusted. We started well at home, but tomorrow we will play away. They are opponents to be respected a lot."
On playing against Spezia away from home:
"We always go out on the pitch respecting our opponents, we go to La Spezia to play a serious match, a match for Milan. I don't know the exact measurements, but surely you realize when you are on the pitch that it is smaller than the others. We expect a very intense game. We must occupy all the spaces well and be very quick in reasoning and thinking in advance."
On Brahim Diaz:
"Brahim is fine, as are all the players. I will evaluate their conditions well to field the best possible formation. It is important who starts the game, but also is whoever enters when the game is in progress. It is the qualities of the players that make the difference, it is clear."
On Pietro Pellegri:
"Pietro Pellegri is a great player with good characteristics. He will be of help to us."
Has this team matured enough?
"You are pointing out interviews of my players who say they want to win every game... Mentally and in terms of participation the team has grown a lot. We are convinced that we can do well from tomorrow until the end of the season", declared Pioli.
On the injuries:
"Messias has come up with some problems that he is now overcoming. Since the beginning of the season we have had only two muscle injuries. The first is for Kessie after a somewhat complicated summer. Then Krunic who had it in the national team. The others have all been fatigued. Calabria is available for tomorrow"."
On the team's quality:
"I am very satisfied with my team. The fact that I have not yet been able to work with all my players is clearly not the best, but I think we can take away a lot of satisfaction."
Plizzari is injured, will you bring a third goalkeeper?
"It is not our idea to take another third goalkeeper. We have interesting young players and we are doing well with Maignan and Tatarusanu."
On Giroud and Calabria:
"Tomorrow we will recover Giroud and Calabria. Florenzi was unable to train due to a sprained knee injury. He is not yet 100% physically, but he is a player that I hope to recover soon because I rely on him a lot."
On Rafael Leao:
"I think the last step is to become more concrete in the finalization and finishing. When I found him on 8 July I met a different player, very eager to work and more mature. He is doing well on the left flank."
On his choices for the starting lineups and formations:
"When everyone's condition is optimal, my choices are purely technical."
Did you expect this Napoli team?
"I expected this Napoli, it has changed little and signed Anguissa who is strong. Napoli is among the best teams in the league, they have a deep squad. I expected Napoli to be a contender for the Scudetto. The competition for the top four places will be a strong. I'm happy with my team, the squad has high quality and I have many solutions"
On the turnover:
"For me the 5 changes are very important, especially in this period where we play every 3 days."
On Mike Maignan:
"We discovered Mike in the first match of the Europa League and then we continued to follow him. He commands the team from behind, he is a player with whom it is a pleasure to work with. In the match we played against Lille at home last year I was impressed by his constant talk."
Last year, Milan lost against Spezia away from home...
"In La Spezia last year everything was missing. We have to do everything the opposite way, we have to be a team from start to finish and be more dangerous than them."
Milan has few yellow cards so far:
"The few yellow cards mean that we don't get the timing wrong", continued Pioli, "I like that we don't get yellow cards or red cards for protests. Just as we can make mistakes, the referee can too."
Spezia almost came out with a result against Juventus...
"Spezia played an excellent match against Juventus. We have to pay close attention, immediate ball recovery will have to be high in intensity and quality. We will also have to see what choices they will make."
