Stefano Pioli praised Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rafael Leao, noting Milan put ‘more quality’ into their performance than Lazio in a 2-0 victory.
The Rossoneri maintained their perfect start to the season with a third consecutive victory, despite Franck Kessie firing a penalty onto the crossbar.
“We wanted to show Milan can play well at the top level and we had more quality than Lazio today, so we deserved the victory,” the coach told DAZN.
Leao got the opening goal with a run from midfield, combining with Ante Rebic, and put in several excellent crosses during the first half.
“Rafa was already a strength for this team last season, but he’s still 22 years old, it is only his third campaign in Italy, the second working with me. He needs to become more efficient in the finish, because he almost always gets past his defender and just has to finish off more of those chances.
“Everyone worked hard and sacrificed themselves for the team, so we must continue like this to keep enjoying our football and entertaining our fans.”
Ibrahimovic took seven minutes on his comeback from knee surgery to find the net and seems ageless, even though he turns 40 next month.
“Zlatan hadn’t played for four months, so I’m glad he scored a goal and will get stronger in the next games. He has this fire within him, the way he battles in training as well as games, all aiming to be the best, you don’t feel the years when you do that.”
Alessandro Florenzi was a surprise in the starting XI, part of the trio supporting Rebic, in the absence of Olivier Giroud.
“Brahim Diaz’s position helped us to open Lazio up a bit, as they were closed off. We have many different attacking approaches that we can take and we aim to use them in various different situations.
“Brahim Diaz and Rebic worked hard against the Lazio defence to create a superiority and also cut off their passing channels when they wanted to build out from the back.”
Pioli was asked how he has been able to act as psychologist for Milan, helping so many young players to develop, including Sandro Tonali and Leao.
“Every player has his own characteristics and above all his own personality, so a coach must learn which buttons to push with each individual. It makes my job easier when young players can see great veterans like Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer in training.
“This is a team that wants to leave the field feeling satisfied every time. We have many situations that we need to improve, but we must continue with this spirit, putting individual considerations aside in favour of the team.
“We will face difficult moments and when we do, we will learn from our mistakes.”
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