AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca made some surprising lineup decisions ahead of the crucial match against Napoli, opting to leave star players Rafael Leao and Fikayo Tomori on the bench despite several other absences.
In his pre-match comments, Fonseca addressed these choices, stating: “Regarding Leao on the bench, it was my decision. I thought it would be better to start with Okafor.”
The Portuguese manager emphasized the importance of the match while downplaying its decisiveness in the title race: “I think our ambition is clear, we want to fight for the Scudetto. Today is an important match but not a decisive one, because we’ve just started, but we want to put in a good performance against a great team.”
Fonseca also explained the absence of Christian Pulisic from the starting lineup: “Today we don’t have Pulisic, who has gastroenteritis and isn’t in the best condition to start. Loftus-Cheek will play, who has very interesting characteristics.”
He elaborated on Loftus-Cheek’s role: “He’s a player who has difficulty carrying the ball in tight spaces. I don’t know if Napoli will give us space, I’ve seen that they defend deep and compact. So this is an opportunity to see Loftus-Cheek’s growth, as he has good offensive characteristics.”
Regarding Pulisic’s potential involvement, Fonseca added: “We’ll see if Pulisic can come on. He’s feeling better than before, but didn’t feel ready to start. We’ll see if we need him and how he reacts.”
