Stefano Pioli believes Milan will continue their progress by growing as a team and with individuals like Theo Hernandez in 2022, but ‘there’s a step between being competitive and winning.’
The Rossoneri secured a comfortable victory with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic tap-in after just 121 seconds and Theo Hernandez brace, including a penalty that saw Svoboda sent off for clearing the ball off the line with his hand.
It means that, at least temporarily, they go top of the table, although Inter do have two games in hand.
“We see 2022 as the year of confirmation, that we are a competitive side. We won’t hide the fact that there’s a step between being competitive and winning, but we’ll see over the course of the campaign if we manage to bridge that gap,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
This was his 400th Serie A match as a coach and his second win out of two in 2022.
“It was only apparently an easy game, we made it seem easier than it was thanks to the right approach and determination.
“There was some fatigue because the injuries forced us to keep using the same players. We made the most of the Christmas break to recoup some energy and fitness levels.”
Sandro Tonali was booked for an avoidable yellow card, but that means he’ll be suspended against Spezia and safe for the big match against Juventus. Pioli was asked if the midfielder had got the card on purpose.
“It was a normal playing situation, he got the timing of the tackle wrong. It would’ve been sillier to get a yellow card for dissent, I tell him off for other things. Every game is worth three points, so if we want to stay at the top, we have to face everyone the same way.”
Milan arguably have an advantage this season that Inter do not, namely they are out of the Champions League and Europe entirely.
“I always believe it’s better to be in Europe. We had a very difficult group, had managed to give ourselves a chance with a great victory away to Atletico Madrid, but made too many mistakes.
“It is true that you have more time each week to prepare for the games, but we would naturally prefer to be in Europe. Inter had an extraordinary second half of last season, but it wasn’t just because they were out of Europe, it takes more than that to put together 50-odd points.”
Pioli continues to see Inter as the Scudetto favourites, while Milan are continuing the process he started in 2020.
“We have learned from both the positive and negative moments, we’ve also seen younger players reach a level of maturity they didn’t have before. For example, Theo Hernandez has more concentration, focus and maturity than he did a year ago.
“Max Allegri said Inter are clearly the favourites for the Scudetto, he was absolutely right, as we can only work on ourselves with this enthusiasm and intensity. The important thing about our style of football also is that the players enjoy themselves.”
Pioli a Sky: “Bravi a rendere facile una gara difficile. Siamo una squadra giovane, ma mentalmente sempre più matura” https://t.co/VQ2YBkTSBo
— MilanNews.it (@MilanNewsit) January 9, 2022