Sergio Conceição spoke to DAZN at the end of Empoli-Milan.
Here are his statements:
A united and compact defensive line that plays high…
"It’s one of the areas we’re working on, even though we don’t have much time or the conditions I would like. The defensive line is crucial for the team's compactness. We don’t play for offside—I didn’t like that. We can suffer with this approach. The players are accepting what we want, and we are working a lot on these details, which are very important to me and to the team."
The team showed character despite being down to ten men and with the new substitutions…
"The temptation at that moment was to take off an attacking player and bring on a central defender. I didn’t do that. I moved Musah to the right, put Kyle alongside Pavlovic, and dropped Joao Felix a bit deeper. I took a risk—I wanted to win. Drawing, for me, feels like losing. They are well-coached, and I congratulate them, but we did our job and brought home the three points."
How is the psychological work progressing in terms of demanding sacrifice from certain players? And did you expect this kind of impact from Gimenez?
"He is a quality player. I already knew that when he was at Porto. We managed to bring him here, just like Joao and Kyle. They have quality and give the team more solutions. A team functions well when a group of players is willing to sacrifice, step out of their comfort zone, and work for a bigger goal, which is to follow the team’s needs."
Conceicao added:
"These details help players reach a higher level. We all know that Joao Felix, Leao, Pulisic, Gimenez, and Tammy are great when we have the ball. But there’s a whole different job to do when we don’t have it. If we are compact and solid as a team, it’s not just the defensive line’s job. Once they understand this, they will enjoy themselves more and win more games. That is my idea of football."
