Leonardo Bonucci admits the Derby della Madonnina is “different” from any other game, but Milan “want to win to pick up points for the Champions League race”.
The Rossoneri face their city rivals Inter on Sunday night in the Milan derby, and the centre-back spoke to Milan TV about the game.
Leonardo Bonucci admits the Derby della Madonnina is “different” from any other game, but Milan “want to win to pick up points for the Champions League race”.
The Rossoneri face their city rivals Inter on Sunday night in the Milan derby, and the centre-back spoke to Milan TV about the game.
“When you play at home, when you play the derby at San Siro, it’s different than playing in other stadiums, because you have 60-70 thousand people pushing for you and they transmit to you the passion and love for this shirt,” Bonucci explained.
“We have to use these emotions on the pitch to respond and win.
“The derby is a game to itself, but we want to win to pick up points for the Champions League race.
“Inter will be confident after beating Benevento but we’ll have to be sure we’re focused in the game because we’re sure we’ll score.
“It’s a game apart, the past doesn’t count and we saw that in the Coppa Italia derby. We were coming off a negative period and it was the derby that gave us the security, self-esteem and positivity to move forward and grow.”
The Beneamata’s main danger man, Mauro Icardi, scored a hat-trick when the sides met earlier this season.
“Icardi is a great international striker, we will need a great defensive performance from the whole team.
“As a backline we’ll try to give him as little space as possible.”
After the derby, the Diavolo take on Arsenal in the Europa League.
“We’re used to challenging each other on a different stage,” Bonucci said.
“Both clubs are experiencing a downsizing and a new cycle. Arsenal have some important individuals, especially from midfield up.
“We’ll have to make the difference with our collective and I’m confident we can put an important team like Arsenal in trouble.”
Bonucci was also asked about his son, Lorenzo, and how he’s dealing with the move from Juventus to Milan.
“He’s not really interested in Milan or Juve, as long as he has his Torino shirt!”