Milan face Chelsea tonight in New York with Mario Balotelli and Riccardo Montolivo back as Max Allegri wants “concentration and pride.”
The Rossoneri won their first match in the Guinness International Champions Cup, beating Valencia 2-1, while the Blues defeated Inter 2-0.
Milan face Chelsea tonight in New York with Mario Balotelli and Riccardo Montolivo back as Max Allegri wants “concentration and pride.”
The Rossoneri won their first match in the Guinness International Champions Cup, beating Valencia 2-1, while the Blues defeated Inter 2-0.
This fixture kicks off at the MetLife Stadium in New York at 23.30 UK time.
Allegri has considerably more players at his disposal than at the Audi Cup, where he used a second-string side in a 5-3 defeat to Manchester City and 1-0 win over Sao Paulo.
“This match is of interest to us, just as all the games we are playing in this period,” said Allegri in his Press conference.
“It will be useful to prepare us for an important objective like the Champions League play-off, but we also have to play with concentration and pride, because we represent an important club and many people are watching us.”
The Coach was referring to the humiliating first half performance against Manchester City, which saw Milan go 5-0 down.
Balotelli and Montolivo are back in the side after injury and an extended post-Confederations Cup vacation, so both could well be in the starting XI.
Cristian Zapata also returns and Matias Silvestre could receive his debut after arriving on loan from Inter, though Jherson Vergara, Robinho, Mattia De Sciglio, Daniele Bonera, Giampaolo Pazzini and Philippe Mexes are still on the treatment table.
There are some concerns over Stephan El Shaarawy, who limped off during training with an ice pack on his right leg.