Milan midfielder Andrea Bertolacci looks ahead to Sunday’s derby with Inter – “it’s an important match”.
The Rossoneri face their city rivals in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday evening, and are currently eight points behind Roberto Mancini’s men.
“We definitely expected to win by more against Alessandria,” Bertolacci admitted to Milan Channel, following last night’s 1-0 win in the Coppa Italia.
Milan midfielder Andrea Bertolacci looks ahead to Sunday’s derby with Inter – “it’s an important match”.
The Rossoneri face their city rivals in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday evening, and are currently eight points behind Roberto Mancini’s men.
“We definitely expected to win by more against Alessandria,” Bertolacci admitted to Milan Channel, following last night’s 1-0 win in the Coppa Italia.
“Credit to them, because they’re very well-organised. We won yesterday, now let’s focus on the derby. In the first game we didn’t deserve to lose, it was one moment which decided the game.
“Now we have to concentrate, Sunday will be a different game because we’re at home, and because we want to win for ourselves and the fans.
“We’ll have to be good to cause problems for Inter. We’re thinking about ourselves, no-one else.
“We can say that we shouldn’t think about the table, but it’s not easy. It’s an important match, especially since it’s a head-to-head confrontation.
“We have to keep drawing closer to the area of the table we should be in, it means so much. We’ve dropped six or seven points away from home, in games against Carpi, Verona and Bologna where we didn’t deserve to draw or lose.
“If we had taken all three points we’d be talking about a different table.
“When I look around the dressing room, I see strong guys [but] we’re lacking that extra step to climb higher.
“We need a bit of luck, a bit of skill, but not just that, also the ability to close out games when they’re in the balance, like at Empoli.
“This is my first derby, in the first half of the season I was injured. These are the kind of games everyone wants to play in, it’ll be a beautiful moment.
“The Coach [Sinisa Mihajlovic] will explain to us in the next few days how to play Inter. We have to play our game, without thinking about them.
“When we’ve played as Milan, we’ve proved we’re a strong team. Maybe what we need is consistency.”
Bertolacci was then asked which players he’d take from Inter.
“[Samir] Handanovic has been showing great qualities recently, maybe I’d take him away from Inter. We’re ready and eager for the game.
“Seeing it from the outside was a beautiful experience, playing in it will be even better.
“A goal? The thought of scoring is always there. Scoring in a derby is something big, which then stays in the history of football and of Milan.”