Massimiliano Allegri tells Milan they “have no choice but to win” away to Novara after their derby defeat.
Massimiliano Allegri tells Milan they “have no choice but to win” away to Novara after their derby defeat.
If Juventus” data-scaytid=”4″>Juventus win against Atalanta” data-scaytid=”5″>Atalanta this evening, then their status as Winter champions will be secure, but the Rossoneri want to keep up the Scudetto pace.
“Tomorrow, more than on any other occasion, we have no choice but to win and it matters little whether we play well,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Milan already played Novara on Wednesday night in the Coppa Italia and were forced into extra time before eventually winning 2-1.
“After Wednesday’s victory it is now also necessary to bring home the three points in Serie A. I am sure Novara will put in the performance of a lifetime.
“We had the opportunity to go top of the table with a win over Inter, but had a far tougher test than Juventus against Cagliari.”
That 1-0 defeat to their local rivals ended a run of 10 victories and two draws in the League. Now the Rossoneri have a massive injury crisis on their hands.
“We hope Alexandre Pato and Kevin-Prince Boateng won’t be out of action for too long, while Mathieu Flamini is also recovering well,” continued Allegri.
“We could see Robinho, Stephan El Shaarawy and Zlatan Ibrahimovic together, but ‘The Little Pharaoh’ will certainly feel the strain of Wednesday’s Coppa game. He can play as both a second striker and outside left, but at the moment I see him better in the former role.”
The Coach stated that Luca Antonini is more likely to start than new signing Djamel Mesbah, while he defended Urby Emanuelson from post-derby criticism.
“The way I see it Emanuelson is doing well as a trequartista. To be at the top he is still missing a goal and for a few more tricks to go his way.”
Naturally, Allegri was asked about the latest developments in the Carlos Tevez saga.
“I know people are going to talk about this until the end of the transfer window, but as I have said many times before it’s an issue for the club and not for me.”