Milan‘s honorary vice president Franco Baresi says the Rossoneri must be ‘more united’ and warns players that one good game in the Europa League Round of 16 won’t be enough to beat Slavia Praha.
The Rossoneri were paired with the Czech side in the Europa League Round of 16 on Friday.
Milan beat Rennes 5-3 on aggregate in the knockout playoff, but Baresi was not entirely happy with the team’s performances over the two legs against the French club.
“It’s never nice to lose even if it was painless. We must concede fewer goals,” the former defender, now serving as Milan’s honorary president told Sky Sport Italia, as quoted by Milannews.
“Perhaps, the focus was not high after a 3-0 win in the first leg, but we know that we must do well in both legs from the next round.
“At the end of the draw, we had a 90% chance of meeting Bayer Leverkusen. It went well, but we should not underestimate Slavia. They are a solid team. They had a great group phase with Roma so we must be well prepared. We must respect everyone in Europe. Milan must go far away.”
The Rossoneri have conceded 31 goals in 25 Serie A matches and have the most-beaten defence in the top 10.
“Everyone must do more. We need more attention and intensity. The team must be more united,” said Baresi.
“We create a lot, but we concede too much. We need more attention and a spirit of sacrifice.”
Milan are 11 points below Inter, who also have a game in hand, so the Europa League is their only credible target this season. The Rossoneri have never won this trophy in the club’s history.
“We must be ambitious and try to go as far as possible,” insisted Baresi.
“If we feel well, we can play on par with everyone. We must believe in ourselves, we have the quality to achieve great targets.
“The team must grow up generally. We are an attacking team, but we must be more united and convinced. Hopefully, all injured players will return soon, so the coach will have more options.”
Milan’s next Serie A game is against Atalanta at San Siro on February 25 and the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 against Slavia will also be played at home on March 7.