Former Inter, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Newcastle coach, Rafael Benitez, spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport about various topics, including AC Milan and Paulo Fonseca.
Here are his statements to the Italian newspaper:
"Milan went into crisis? They came out of the match with Liverpool poorly, but they recovered immediately and almost unexpectedly in the derby against Inter. It wasn’t easy to do so, given the atmosphere, yet Milan reacted, won, and then did it again against Lecce. Character is a virtue."
In Leverkusen, against Xabi Alonso, one of the pillars of his Liverpool, there will be suffering.
“He’s in great form, which has lasted for years now. He triumphed in the Bundesliga, recently drew 1-1 away at Bayern, has started strong in the Champions League, and plays at a level of consistency that deserves applause.”
A match worthy of a thousand and one nights....
“Milan will approach it with the attitude of their last 180 minutes. Fonseca’s interventions, after the loss to Liverpool, brought about a change, and having Morata is a key factor: he brings his ruthless presence in the penalty area and an experience that becomes added value. Today’s Champions League removes pressure, and Milan knows that it has the chance to recover ahead of them, if necessary: we’re only at the second matchday, and we don’t yet know how many points are needed to qualify.”
European Inter exudes calmness... Benitez replied:
“The international level, highlighted in the draw with Manchester City, almost wavered with the defeat in the derby. But Inzaghi put things right again, won in Udine, rediscovered Lautaro Martinez’s goals, and this time against Red Star, they need to completely regain themselves. No game, even the seemingly least complicated, can be approached lightly: Inter knows this well, won’t fall into the trap, and will seek to confirm that the defeat against Milan was just a slip-up."
