Stefano Pioli explains his change of shape and why Rafael Leao still has a long way to go, as Milan saw off Juventus 2-0 at San Siro. ‘We had the width to spread their defence, but also more solidity in the middle.’
The Rossoneri needed a reaction to their midweek 3-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea and provided it by sweeping Juventus aside in Serie A.
Rafael Leao hit the woodwork twice before Fikayo Tomori turned in from a corner, then Brahim Diaz intercepted Dusan Vlahovic’s wayward pass in his own half and sprinted forward, riding two tackles to bend back Wojciech Szczesny’s gloves.
“It was a very intense match, we made a few too many misplaced passes in the first 20 minutes,” Pioli told DAZN.
“I will say that the last time Rafa needs to do now is to work off the ball, because he needs to help defensively, be inside the match and be ready to sacrifice himself for the team. He’s nearly there, but still has work to do.”
It was a vast improvement from the performance in the Champions League, where they were torn apart 3-0 at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea.
“We worked as a team today, unfortunately we lost our shape in London and got too intimidated by our own mistakes and the strength of the opponent. We know that if we work together, we can get positive results.
“The reason we didn’t do well in London is because we were not aggressive enough and we made too many unforced errors without needing Chelsea to be aggressive in their press against us.
“This was a very important game in Serie A, it always is between Milan and Juventus, so we had the right attitude from the start.”
Milan switched to 4-3-3 this evening with Tommaso Pobega coming into the midfield, Leao and Brahim Diaz in slightly deeper roles supporting Olivier Giroud.
“Clearly, missing both Messias and Saelemaekers takes away players who can run on the touchline, but we needed also today players to stop Juve passing it around in midfield, so we put Leao on one side and Brahim on the other.
“We had the necessary width to spread Juve’s defence, but also more solidity in the middle of the park.”
De Ketelaere came off the bench, but has Pioli changed his mind on how the Belgian could play in this squad?
“Charles can play on the right, but I don’t think that would get the best out of his characteristics. I believe Brahim can do better there with his characteristics. Any player can do anything with the right attitude, but seeing as De Ketelaere is still settling in, I think it’s better for him if I don’t move him around too much. “Although Brahim might not be that happy with the decisions I made over time, I always appreciated his attitude.”