Milan assistant manager Mauro Tassotti explains the ‘no centre-forward’ system chosen against Barcelona.

Milan assistant manager Mauro Tassotti explains the ‘no centre-forward’ system chosen against Barcelona.

With Mario Balotelli not fit enough to start, the Rossoneri picked a front three of Kaka, Robinho and Valter Birsa. Click here for the line-ups.

“We chose Kaka because our objective is to stay tight and cover the forward runs of their full-backs, especially Dani Alves,” Tassotti told Sky Sport Italia.

“That is our idea, to play with the whole team within a 30-metre gap and try to make it difficult for Barcelona.

“As for Balotelli, he is fine, but won’t start because he hasn’t trained much over the last few days. To start him would’ve been a gamble.

“We need to take space away from Barcelona, as we want an aggressive performance. As soon as they get into dangerous areas, we have to press them straight away, otherwise we make it easier for them to play.

“Having Kaka on the field brings energy to the side. He represents a lot for Milan and we hope he can do well.”

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