Massimiliano Allegri, the AC Milan head coach, spoke to the media in a press conference as usual ahead of tomorrow's fixture against Lazio at the Olimpico stadium. He started first by commenting on Shevchenko's visit to the club:
"It was a pleasure. For me, for the staff, and for the whole team. We hope it brings good things ahead of tomorrow’s match."
How is the team, particularly Gimenez? What kind of week has it been?
"Rightly, after the match we were all happy, but on Tuesday the team came back in a calm and serene manner. Now, however, we have Lazio, which is always a complicated match, because Sarri’s teams are always very difficult to face, and it’s important for us because we need to try to take another small step forward."
Why not believe in this league title? Allegri commented:
"It’s not a question of trying, we have to do our part, because with 60 points you don’t get anywhere. We have to give our best knowing that ahead there is a team with a 7-point advantage, and we also have teams behind chasing us. We have to race against ourselves. To get into the top 4, we need to win 5 more matches."
Tomorrow in Rome without Rabiot: how will his absence be addressed?
“I don’t know whether it will be Jashari or Ricci tomorrow, but what matters is that the team delivers an organized performance, with a strong defensive phase, because they are a team that scores a lot towards the end of matches. Luckily, tomorrow we will have a full stadium, with 10,000 Milan fans, which is very important for us. We need to finish the week well, and tomorrow we will play this match. I repeat, if we do our part, those behind us cannot catch up.”
About the attack and the possible return of Santiago Gimenez:
"Gimenez will not be called up tomorrow but he is in good condition, especially psychologically. For the final part of the season, we need players who can score goals.”
Is this comeback for the Scudetto achievable?
"I repeat: there’s only one way for us to catch up to Inter. They have to lose, and we have to win. All this chatter… later, the results will show whether we were good at winning many games and whether they dropped points," said Allegri.
Does Lazio’s less aggressive tactical approach change your game strategy a bit?
"It will be a tough match; they concede very little. That’s the kind of season they’ve always played. For them, it will be an important match because they’ll try to beat Milan, and for us it’s important because it gives us a chance to make a small step forward."
Has the Champions League become a different level for Italian teams? Why? Allegri said:
"Football is beautiful because it’s open to interpretation and every year the situations change. Right now we’re looking at the final stages, but even the English teams are struggling. This format is fun on one hand, there are many matches, and you can find yourself in different positions in the standings. Maybe next year it will be different. The important thing is to play, and then we’ll see what each team is capable of. There’s no set rule."
How is Pulisic doing?
"Physically, he’s much better. He played a good match in the derby. He’s constantly improving. Both him and Leao, Fullkrug, and even Nkunku are doing very well."
Do we need to stay calm?
"The strength we need to have is to work in total serenity, without getting overly excited or depressed depending on the moment. Milan is having a good season. We haven’t achieved any objectives yet, and I repeat: one good thing we’ve done is to reach March with the chance to fight for our goals. Now there are the matches that really count."
What step would you like Youssouf Fofana to take now?
"The goal. We hope he scores, but I think the goal will come for him too."
Do you think that even tomorrow the first team to score will win? Before you said that after the derby four wins were missing, why do you now say five are missing?
"75 is almost mathematically certain with the head-to-head results. The two matches against Lazio: at home we were in danger in several situations. In the Coppa Italia in Rome we were only in danger during the goal."
When you hear your players talk about the scudetto, do you appreciate the ambition or do you scold them?
"Ambition isn’t the scudetto, but to give our best, working hard every day. Then whether we are better than others we will see, because the league is such a long journey that the best team of the year wins."
Allegri, do you think Milan has grown a lot in these eight months?
"You have to be convinced to get more results. Tomorrow there’s another match, and we will be judged on that."
What will you need to be careful about tomorrow?
"They give you very little space, they put a lot of pressure on the ball. At the same time, they have players with a lot of technique."
