Stefano Pioli thought his Milan side were ‘exceptional’ in their 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Having gone four matches without a win, the Rossoneri turned in a much improved performance against the Ligue 1 champions, despite going behind early on. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao helped bring home a much-needed victory, and speaking post-match Pioli, explained why he thought his side were exceptional with the effort they put in:
On the victory…
“We did what we had to do. We played with the right spirit. We made an exceptional effort to put a great team back together. Congratulations to the boys. It was an important match for the group, nothing has been decided, now we will play at home against Dortmund.”
On the reaction after Udinese…
“They [the players] did a lot of the work. I reminded them of who we are and the path we have taken. We gave the fans a great evening after Saturday’s disappointment.”
On the game…
“It’s clear that I would like my Milan to always play like this. On Saturday, we made a more broader mistake in the game, but this team has its own way of playing and being on the pitch. These games say many things. We suffered, they kept the ball more, but we also had opportunities to score more goals. We took an important step forward, but the group will only be decided in the last round. Now we have a direct clash with Dortmund who are two points ahead of us and could be decisive.”
On Leao…
“This must be his standard. He can be a champion, but it depends only on him. He played an exceptional match like everyone else, not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of desire.”
On the differences between the Champions League and the league…
“It’s not a different Milan. We weren’t in difficulty against Juve and Napoli, we paid dearly for some mistakes. Tonight we suffered a lot, but we have to dive back into the league immediately.”
