Milan coach Stefano Pioli believes Inter deserve the Scudetto this season, but his team will try their best not to let them lift the trophy in the Milan derby. After their Europa League against Roma, Pioli’s Milan are gearing up for the derby against the Nerazzurri, and the Rossoneri coach spoke about the importance of winning the game:
“Pride, redemption, belonging: for our standing in the league and our exit from the Europa League, we have a great opportunity, and we must seize it.”
Reflecting on the defeat against Roma, Pioli stated, “It’s been days of work because the loss has passed. We weren’t happy, but we tried to focus on what needs to be done tomorrow. Perhaps we were presumptuous in thinking that Roma couldn’t score against us.” He continued, “A victory in the derby would be extremely important. Is it important for me? We’ve talked about it too much and for too long, which hasn’t benefited anyone. My Milan still has a lot to give. I’m not interested in criticism. Journalists and fans can criticize and judge, some with more respect, some with less.”
“It has to be the best Milan possible,” he emphasized, “we have to play a great game. Inter deserves to win the Scudetto, but we’ll do everything to ensure they don’t win tomorrow.”
Regarding the statement from the Curva: “The most important thing is that tomorrow there will be 70,000 fans pushing Milan, the rest matters little.” “A rating for the season? I won’t answer, I’ll do the evaluations at the end,” he added.
Final thoughts on the lineup: “You’ll find out the lineup soon anyway… How can you not prepare mentally for such an important game? As for tactical choices, I believe I could do anything: change everything, confirm everything, I’m open to everything.”
