AC Milan will play tonight at the San Siro against Slavia Prague in what will be the Europa League first fixture of the round of 16. The Rossoneri head coach, Stefano Pioli, wants to go all the way in the competition and try to win silverware in an attempt to save his future and confirm himself for at least next season.
The path to the final, however, is difficult and it is too early to talk about such possible achievements. The focus at Milanello now is the coming challenge against a tough team which should not be underestimated.
Tuttosport, in this morning's print edition, has presentedthe challenge against Slavia Prague and explained how AC Milan aim to 'repeat' the match against Rennes at San Siro. They want to obtain a strong and large advantage from the first match.
If Milan could virtually close the game today, as it happened with Rennes, the Rossoneri could focus on the league, which in the coming weeks offers difficult matches but also the opportunity, potentially, to try to overtake Juventus (2nd) in the standings.
The Europa League is very important and Stefano Pioli is aware of that. In fact, he said these words during yesterday's press conference:
"We must think that we can win the Europa League, but then we must be good at passing this round. In Europe, every match is difficult: we face an opponent who in the group stage only lost in Rome. At this moment, we are doing well and we must exploit this. Within us, we have the awareness, motivation, and enthusiasm to go all the way."
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