Sergio Conceição, AC Milan coach, spoke to Sky Sport at the end of Udinese-Milan.
How is Mike Maignan?
“Two or three things I saw really struck me. I was concerned about two players who were in difficulty, and I heard the crowd applaud: I have to compliment the Udinese fans. They booed the player at first, but then, when something happened to the man, they applauded him. It’s an incredible gesture, something I’ve never seen in 40 years of football. Compliments to them. Mike is in the hospital and will undergo tests. It was a very nice gesture.”
Was it just a matter of switching to a back three?
“When we had the break, we worked on this system. Then I couldn’t change it earlier because many players returned just two days before the match. The players embraced this idea both with and without the ball, with the full-backs more protected. I had good feelings: we don’t always show them on the pitch, but today we did. And okay: today it’s three points, and we’re already thinking about the next match. I saw a solid, compact team, just as we want. The team is responsive. Having free weeks is very important.”
Is this the most important win since you arrived? Conceicao replied:
“The most important win is yet to come.”
How did you see Theo Hernandez?
“Offensively, he’s among the best in the world in his role. Then defensively, we wanted a bit more aggression. This way, he is much more protected. Our central defenders interpreted the game very well. Everyone played as a good team. Theo feels more protected like this.”
Was Luka Jovic important?
“Offensively, we wanted to provide depth with the width of Theo and Jimenez and players dropping to offer that depth. They’re strong physically, but they struggle with speed. Jovic did very, very well.”
Do you believe in Europe?
“We’re focused on working. There’s no need to talk too much — we’ve talked a lot until now, but what counts are the results.”
