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[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]Stefano Pioli saw Milan’s glass as ‘half-full’ after the Derby Della Madonnina draw. ‘Inter are a strong side and we proved we’re strong too.’
The Rossoneri remain unbeaten in Serie A this season and came back from an early Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, scored against his former club, when Stefan de Vrij nodded a Sandro Tonali free kick into his own net.
Ciprian Tatarusanu was the hero with a penalty save on Lautaro Martinez, while both sides had chances to win.
Nicolò Barella’s effort was cleared off the line and Alexis Saelemaekers thumped the woodwork.
“The glass is half-full. You aim to win, but it was complicated, the team showed a lot of spirit and we struggled a bit too much in the first half, but then emerged after the break,” Pioli told DAZN.
Compared to last season, Milan faced the Derby della Madonnina with more confidence.
“Inter are a strong side and we proved that we are strong too. It was a positive performance. Look at the average age difference for the starting XI between Milan and Inter. We needed time to gain that experience, form that confidence and now we can fight it out with the best in Serie A.
“There can be difficulties, but we showed courage tonight again and both teams had the opportunities to win.
“We made a naïve error on the penalty, but maintained our ideas and approach to turn this around. We could’ve sought Zlatan Ibrahimovic more, as we didn’t give him enough service, but it’s also true that we fought for every ball and never stepped back.”
Milan seemed to step up a gear when Ante Rebic came off the bench, while they missed suspended Theo Hernandez at left-back.
“Ante is very important, as he has that change of pace and is very aggressive. We saw Rafael Leao was a little less sharp tonight, inevitably because he played practically every game for the last three weeks.
“We were courageous in attack, but also in defence, where we accepted one-on-one situations with players like Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez. We were eager to bring home another positive result.
“In all of Europe’s top five Leagues, only Napoli and Milan are still unbeaten this season, and that says a lot about how we are doing.”
Napoli were held 1-1 by Hellas Verona today, so they remain joint leaders with the Rossoneri.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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