Stefano Pioli commented on the victory against Slavia Prague last night at the San Siro in the Europa League first fixture of the Round of 16.
Here are his words to MILAN TV:
"It was a complicated match, they dropped back a lot and we didn't have much space. After taking the lead, we immediately conceded the equalizer, and also the other goal, they're two messy goals. It's a good win, with character and mentality. I thought and hoped that with numerical superiority we could do more and try to extend the lead, but we didn't manage it. They are tough, energetic, and intense; the passage to the next round is not yet decided."
On today and the return leg:
"Numerical superiority favoured us, it's true that in the return leg they will have to take more risks and we might have more space, we'll have to find it. I expect it to be similar to the match against Rennes; we have the qualities to win there too."
On having the full squad finally available, Pioli said:
"It's very important to have the whole squad, except for Pobega. These matches take away a lot of mental and physical energy. We'll try to understand who's fatigued and who came out of it well."
On Rafa Leao:
"Leao can reach very high levels, but it's not like we have to talk about his qualities every time. He needs to move with more intensity; we should have served him better and more. He always has to try to be as decisive and strive to improve because he can be decisive in every situation."
