Paulo Fonseca, AC Milan's coach, attended the press conference in the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium in Madrid after the 3-1 victory of his team over Real Madrid.
Question: Is this your Milan?
"To be honest, these matches are completely different from what we have in Serie A," said the coach. "This is the Milan I want, but we can't always be the same team in Serie A. Only those in Italy understand: here there’s no man-to-man marking across the whole field, and for this reason, I need to be careful when making these comparisons. In Europe, we can be this type of team, but often in Italy, it's not possible to play these kinds of games."
Why did you choose Yunus Musah?
"We tried to stop Vinicius, who is very strong in one-on-one situations."
Alvaro Morata did very well… Fonseca commented:
"It's not just about the goal; it's how he works for the team, how he creates doubts in the minds of the opposing teams, which is important."
When did you come up with this idea?
"In Monza, I didn't play Royal, Musah, Tomori, or Leao because I had already studied Real Madrid and had this match in mind."
Did you like this Milan midfield?
"Fofana, Reijnders, Pulisic, and Morata were decisive in how they controlled the game with and without the ball. I liked the courage the midfielders showed."
The best performances against Inter and Real Madrid: is it better to start as underdogs? Fonseca replied:
"No, it’s the characteristics of the matches. We’re improving in many aspects. This match was more open, allowing us to play differently. In Italy, there are many games against teams that defend well. It’s not the same to play against Monza or Cagliari, who use man-to-man marking all over the field, as it is to play against teams like Real Madrid. It’s more challenging for us to play against Italian teams."
