Coach Stefano Pioli presented to the media the game against Udinese, which is set to be played tomorrow at the San Siro. Among the subjects he discussed is the topic of the players with expiring contracts and their availability to the team:
"The players with contracts expiring? These are problems of the club. I don't train players who are expiring, but serious guys, professionals and always on the pitch. We'll see then what happens."
He added:
"We are doing well. We come from a performance with some errors, tomorrow we expect a more solid performance."
On the draw against Salernitana, he said:
"We have carefully evaluated our performance. We cannot influence the results of the other teams, we have to think only of us. We were not very lucid in Salerno after scoring the first goal. We had to manage the match in a better way. I expect to see some steps forward."
Do you believe in the Scudetto?
"Our goal is to improve last year's score. If we are good at improving it by so many points to win the Scudetto it will be something exceptional. We have built a solid team, we are competitive."
Pioli on if there are any tired players:
"No, I choose because I have so many quality alternatives. We are thinking only of tomorrow's match. There are 13 games left: each has an important specific weight. Head to Udinese, which is a tough, intense team and has quality ahead. It is an opponent and difficult team to overcome."
Thoughts on the Russia-Ukraine crisis?
"We talked about it before training, there is a lot of concern in all of us. There is dismay at what is happening. If there is one thing that can unite it is sport and therefore we must try to do our best."
How was this week in terms of preparations?
"Before every game I am always worried because you can prepare it better, but there are situations that you cannot control. I have seen a concentrated team this week."
On the qualities of Udinese:
"It's a compact team, it won't be easy to find spaces, so we'll have to be good at moving the ball. They start off well, so we'll need an attentive and lucid team. We must make as few mistakes as possible."
On the Scudetto race:
"It's hard to say, there are still many games to go. All those up front can do some winning streaks. Maybe we won't reach last year's total of points, but many points will still be needed", declared Pioli.
On Ante Rebic's condition
"I expect a lot because he is a quality player. His condition is improving. Now we have three forwards available: Rebic, Leao and Giroud. Two will always play."
Would you renew Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract?
"It is important what Zlatan thinks first of all. As I know him, I think he wants to continue. His condition is improving, perhaps slower than we thought, but he is better."
Again on Udinese:
"Udinese? They are a solid team we should be very careful and compact
Will next week be a decisive period for AC Milan's season?
"I don't know if it will be decisive, but it will be very important. We have difficult fixtures coming up. The points weight a lot."
Pioli on what he likes the most about Milan:
"I have always felt protected and appreciated. I feel at ease and this allows me to work at my best".
How do you explain the drop of form of some players in your team?
"If we still talk about Saturday, too much desire made us lose lucidity, we wanted to split the games. We have to go at a thousand per hour when we are without the ball, we must be animals. But when we have it, we must manage ourselves calmly."
On Alexis Saelemaekers
"We will see tomorrow if he will be a starter. He is a lively player, he must be more precise in some plays. But he has the qualities to be more effective in certain situations."
On Marko Lazetic:
"He is better. He has done an important job on a physical aspect. However, I don't think he will be there tomorrow."
What does Pioli have more than Luciano Spalletti and Simone Inzaghi?
"Pioli has Milan. I have so much confidence in my players. Everything is possible with them."
Against Salernitana, perhaps the team played less as a unit?
"No. Then clearly it is logical to exploit the qualities of the individuals. I think we have not been able to exploit the space we had available."
Will we see two strikers up front again?
"Yes, it is possible. It will obviously depend on the matches and the conditions of the players."
Last year, there was a wallpaper from the game against Rio Ave to motivate the players, what about this season?
"We have several. By working and playing in a certain way we know we can take away some satisfactions", concluded Pioli his presser today.
