Stefano Pioli believes Milan have turned a corner with ‘three very important wins’ to reboot their season after beating Monza. ‘We must build on that belief and keep getting results.’

It was a third consecutive 1-0 win between Serie A and the Champions League, beating Torino, Tottenham Hotspur and this evening a Monza side that had been without defeat in the league in 2023.

Junior Messias hit a powerful strike in at the near post from outside the box after 31 minutes and that proved enough, though Michele Di Gregorio made several big saves and the woodwork denied Rafael Leao.

“When we have to defend, we must do it all together with energy and intensity. We can do better, but Monza had a great second half and we felt the strain after a while of a very tough week on both a physical and mental level,” Pioli told DAZN.

“We also had the chances to add more, two big ones, but considering our current situation, we must build on that belief and keep getting results.”

Milan were lucky too, because a Patrick Ciurria daisy-cutter thumped the base of the upright, ricocheted off Ciprian Tatarusanu, hit the same post again and went out.

“I thought it was a very good half performance, we should’ve got past Monza’s press with some more incisive movements from our forwards, but everyone was working together and we are absolutely on the right track now.”

Now the Rossoneri seem to have gone past their crisis, what does Pioli want to see from them as a step up to the next level?

“The next steps are to build the play out from the back better, be more consistent and create more scoring opportunities. Monza ran at us in the second half to break the lines with Brahim Diaz and there we should’ve moved better upfront. I want to see improvements in the way we build the play and seek options going forward.

“Winning three games in a row like this, suffering and playing as a team, we need to recover some of that energy and prepare for Atalanta. We’re not too safe in the Champions League, but if we continue to keep clean sheets, then we have the quality to win games until the end.”

Charles De Ketelaere came off the bench, but wasted another promising opportunity after his shocking miss against Tottenham.

“I think he just needs a goal. He is young, had hoped to do more and a goal would mean a lot for him. He is getting the chances, so the goal will arrive, I am certain. He has the quality, he just needs to keep believing in himself.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector