Yacine Adli underlined how he ‘gave everything’ to earn his spot in Milan’s squad for their 3-1 win over Cagliari, hoping that this is just the start.
The 23-year-old Frenchman made just his second start for the club since his arrival last year, playing 58 minutes of their victory in Sardinia. He looked positive in the defensive midfielder role, giving Stefano Pioli more flexibility moving forward.
Adli hardly made a splash in his debut season with Milan, seeing just 140 minutes of action across six league games. Despite this, he is a popular figure in the dressing room and will be hoping to see more play throughout this campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia via MilanNews.it, Adli first discussed how it felt to start for Milan again.
“I waited and dreamed of this night, but it took work, and it took patience. I had that and I gave everything for this moment. But it’s only one match and I want to play more. I want to show that I’m there and that I can help.”
He spoke about how he adapted to the role of a defensive midfielder.
“I’ve played a bit everywhere, the position suits me. When Pioli told me to play in front of the defence, I told him: ‘Let me play where you want me to’.”
Finally, Adli discussed the difficulties of being forced to the sidelines for so long at Milan.
“It was difficult of course, because I wanted to play like all footballers, so I sought happiness in other ways. I always tried to help.
“On the first day I spoke to Pioli, and he told me that we were going to change the way we played and that I wasn’t covered.
“Then Tomori asked me what I was going to do, and I told him: ‘I’ll stay here, and you’ll see me play’.”
I wanted him to leave in the summer, but perhaps that would have been a mistake. While he was part of the mistake that led to the goal, he was otherwise great against Cagliari. And certainly miles better than Krunic.
I can’t fault his desire to fight for a position. If he keeps it up, he will earn that spot.