Gennaro Gattuso forgives Danny Welbeck for his Arsenal dive, warns Milan that Chievo represent “a trap” and won’t discuss his contract.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The Rossoneri crashed out of the Europa League amid controversy on Thursday, as with the tie 2-1 on aggregate, Welbeck’s blatant dive earned a penalty.
Gennaro Gattuso forgives Danny Welbeck for his Arsenal dive, warns Milan that Chievo represent “a trap” and won’t discuss his contract.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The Rossoneri crashed out of the Europa League amid controversy on Thursday, as with the tie 2-1 on aggregate, Welbeck’s blatant dive earned a penalty.
“The British media went down hard on him because they are a very sporting nation and believe in honesty,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“I know how they think there, because I played in Britain when I was 20 years old. I won’t judge, because when I was a player, I tried to take advantage of little incidents.
“Nobody wants to lose and I’d be a hypocrite to say he was wrong. The truth is it wasn’t his mistake, but that of the officials who awarded the penalty. Those two games are important to help us raise the bar, gain experience and mentality, because we want nights like that next year too.
“Now we have to focus only on Chievo, then during the break for international duty we’ll be able to rest a few players. Davide Calabria and Ignazio Abate have not recovered and I need people at 100 per cent to battle Chievo.
“It’s a real trap, this game, because Chievo don’t belong in their current position and have been working together for years. We must do everything to win, it is crucial to get this victory before the break.”
Gattuso tested a 4-4-2 formation with Patrick Cutrone and Andre Silva in attack at the Emirates, with Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu out wide.
“We moved in attack the same way we always do, with the same movements, but what I didn’t like was the number of shots on goal we allowed Arsenal. This is a team that has to play with balance, because otherwise we seem like a musical band playing out of tune.
“I’d love to go all-out in attack, but we have to give the priority to balance, because when we don’t have that, we really struggle.
“Suso played 15-16 games in a row, it’s only natural he can’t play all of them in top form. It mustn’t be an alibi, but you can see when we go on the counter that we’re not sharp at the moment. Tomorrow must be one final physical and mental push, then we can rest a little.”
It’s widely reported that Gattuso will sign a new contract with Milan to June 2020.
“I am not even thinking about that. There’s no problem, I am focused on my work and the directors know where to find me. I must continue my work, convince the players they are strong and get them to live day by day. These lads are a gift, they give me their all and believe in what I say.”