AC Milan's head coach, Stefano Pioli, spoke to the media outlets at Milanello in a press conference in view of Torin - Milan fixture. Here are his words:
"We started at the beginning of the season with the aim of finishing on November 13 as far forward as possible in the league and with the overcoming of the group. We have these 5 important matches, the team is doing well: tomorrow is the most important. It is stimulating to meet the teams of (Ivan) Juric, they force you to find solutions."
How difficult is tomorrow's game with Torino?
"It certainly presents a lot of difficulties, we didn't play it a long time ago: despite we were in good condition last year we didn't manage to overcome Torino. We want to give continuity, the championships are won with continuity, results, streaks of results the longest possible. It will be a balanced championship in the top positions. Doing well tomorrow is important."
On Brahim Diaz and Sergino Dest:
"Dest and Brahim are recovered, they are available to be called up. I will field the best line-up based on my players' conditions."
On Pietro Pellegri:
"A regret regarding the player? No. He had a problematic season due to several setbacks. He had a very high competition, the best choices were made for us and for him. I wish him to do well, but not from the next match."
On the choices available:
"The starting team is there and is the one that will start the game tomorrow, with the awareness of having so many different characteristics to put in place during the game. The boys are giving me total availability, this is our way to work. We want to continue to level up and it is normal to have as many strong players as possible, the competition helps to keep the level of training high: to convince me they have to give their best every day."
Pioli, do you want to see your team in first position by November 13?
"To try to confirm ourselves we have to score as many points as possible. On November 13 I don't think it will be decisive to be first or second, but to score as many points as possible. To win, you need to reach at least 85 points, which is a lot. We only lost against Napoli, I continue to think it was undeserved. But, afterwards we were very good at getting 4 consecutive victories."
On Brahim Diaz:
"He was fine before, now he's fine too. With so many close matches a very banal contracture can become a problem for the next game: I don't think that for many of my players it will be a problem to play two consecutive games, but we will see..."
On Mike Maignan who is injured:
"Maignan is here, he is being treated by us. On Monday, he will have another evaluation and then we will decide when it will be possible to have him come back."
On Charles De Ketelaere, Pioli said:
"We have 5 very important games for our present and future, all the players are focused on these. At Milanello, there is no limit for our patience. We have foresight and clarity to understand the path of a young boy, what interests us are quality, intelligence and availability: they are all there."
On Fodé Ballo-Touré and Matteo Gabbia:
"I think we will meet on November 13 and no one will have played the 7 games completely. I have many strong and available players. I will play all those I consider able to win the games."
On the growth margins of Charles De Ketelaere:
"It is difficult to make predictions, everyone has their own path. Then it may be that tomorrow we all praise De Ketelaere for a goal or the play he makes. When there is quality, intelligence and availability there are all the characteristics to make a talent blossom in a great player. The important thing is to continue working with this desire, with this availability, with this passion that we all have here at Milanello."
Will Yacine Adli have a chance to play tomorrow against Torino?
"Tomorrow's team will be the best possible. The players have known who will play since this morning. An important and difficult match, but we have the qualities to do well."
Pioli on Pierre Kalulu and some comparisons made:
"Comparisons are difficult and often inappropriate. Pierre has his own way to go. As a central defender, he did excellent things, returning to play as a full-back took a few games to regain confidence. He is a player with personality and continuity. , he always stays in the game. He is very reliable from a mental point of view. There are many situations in which he can improve obviously. He is doing well and he absolutely must continue like this."
What should Milan do tomorrow to win?
"They must play with quality. The opponent will put us in a lot of pressure. We have many players with quality, they must have the personality to be given the ball even with the opponent close. We have both quality and personality, I expect a positive performance."
On his contract renewal with Milan:
"As in weddings, we only need to renew promises, then I don't know if it will be in a month or two, it won't be a problem. We know each other better and we have many challenges to face together."
On Malick Thiaw and Aster Vranckx:
"They are growing a lot, they are ready. Then I have many solutions but they are certainly ready to help the team."
On Tommaso Pobega who progressed well under the guidance of Torino's coach Ivan Juric:
"Pobega become more aware and complete. He has had an excellent season playing consistently. He knows how to move well in both phases, he has important characteristics that I think the team lacked."
Pioli the 'psychologist', what is the secret?
"It has always been my priority to try to level up and optimize the qualities of the players available. It must be the priority of every coach. The club provides us with human and technical qualities, we are here to develop them. Then it is clear that here we are also doing it with instant results because the material is of excellent quality. If the players continue to improve it is because they have quality and the willingness to work in a certain way. Great merits go to the club and to the boys for the will and the sacrifice they put into it every day."
On the level of quality:
"We will have to fight, many set-pieces and many tackles. Beyond the quality that is always crucial, winning tackles cannot be done without."
Is there still a step to go to the next level?
"The team continues to believe in their own qualities, especially in the difficult moments of the match and it is an important improvement. All victories go through difficult moments: they know that by working together with availability and compactness they have the qualities to overcome the most difficult matches."
By coaching Olivier Giroud, Fikayo Tomori and Divock Origi, do you now understand the differences between the Premier League and Serie A?
"They have a mentality where they ask fewer questions. If there are 90 minutes of training they do it at a thousand per hour. We are more attentive to 'why do you do this or that'. Maybe we take something off on a mental level. They are much lighter, they go to the field giving their best following the coach. They are much freer and less worried."
Arsenal's loanee in AC Monza, Pablo Mari, was stabbed recently in Carrefour Market in Milan... Did you talk about the incident in the locker room?
"We talked about it, it struck us all. It makes you understand that we are in the hands of destiny and that we must be as careful as possible. On the night of the accident I heard from Adriano Galliani who called me immediately to clarify how things had gone. We are close to Pablo Mari and we are happy that he will overcome the accident. Some things shouldn't happen."
