Stefano Pioli explains why Milan have been so transformed after beating Lecce 3-0, prepares for Roma in the Europa League and hails ‘exemplary’ Christian Pulisic.
The Rossoneri had a strong start at San Siro, surging into the 2-0 lead within 20 minutes thanks to Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud goals.
“We try to be unpredictable with positions we prepare to put doubts in the mind of the opposition defences. We often achieve it thanks to the quality of our forward players,” Pioli told DAZN.
Nikola Krstovic saw red just before half-time for a high boot that caught Samuel Chukwueze in the ribs, and Lecce were even more furious on Rafael Leao’s third goal, as Pontus Almqvist was on the ground after an accidental knock to the head from Theo Hernandez when Milan scored on the counter-attack.
VAR could not intervene, as there was no foul, but the referee should’ve stopped play for a head injury.
Pulisic was used in a new trequartista role behind the striker, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek was suspended, but again made a big impact and set a new personal best for goals in a top five league season.
Pioli looked back to the time he talked the former Chelsea man into joining Milan.
“I’ve had many video calls to explain the playing style and I rarely get the wrong sensation from the players. I knew Pulisic’s quality, but when we talked on a video call, I sensed something very positive. He was very eager, curious, interested in everything I had to say.
“He doesn’t talk very much, but it’s the attitude that shines through from a person. His attitude is fantastic, he is an exemplary professional and hard worker who will help the team to get stronger.
“We changed over 20 players this season, between coming and going. We are very close to the Milan I want, but now that we are in good shape, we have to keep raising the bar in terms of intensity and quality.”
It was the seventh consecutive Milan victory in all competition, the best way to go into the Europa League quarter-final against Roma on Thursday, further consolidating second place.
“We are in good shape, we played the way we wanted, the two teams were highly motivated, now we need concentration on a completely different competition, the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final. It is a big moment for both clubs.
“Roma are naturally of a higher level than Slavia Prague and Rennes, but we want to make the most of the home advantage in the first leg in front of our fans.”
The current form does raise regrets over the way Milan fell out of the Scudetto race so early on.
“The strong start was an important sign from my players. It has not always been a sharp or positive campaign, so we suffered in some moments and tried to isolate ourselves, but we now want to keep the positive streak going.
“This is a team that never gives up, it remains solid and has belief in what it is doing. The players can sense now they are in good shape both physically and technically, so what we need is to always have this level of motivation.”
The fans had also turned on Pioli for a while, but now seem to be right behind him again.
“We suffered and so did our fans during those difficult weeks, but they never left us alone, they always showed enthusiasm and passion. We will need that over the next month and a half, because the moment one match is finished, we start from scratch to the next.
“We want to be as competitive as possible in both tournaments, so finishing second in Serie A and going all the way in the Europa League would still be an important achievement. That’s what we want to do.”
While there has been so much talk of Pioli’s potential replacement next season, the coach still feels himself fully on this bench.
“It’s rare to find such a positive atmosphere even when people on the outside are saying we’re useless, that we’ve suddenly lost all our talent. We never felt that within the camp, we never stopped believing in what we were doing.
“There were many new players, while quite a few of the older players had the risk of losing some of that sharpness and hunger, but instead a great symbiosis has been created.”
What made the shift from that Milan early in the season and the team we can see now?
“We have data showing that our defensive movements in the first four months of the season were mid-table level, whereas we ‘saved’ ourselves with the attacking phase,” explained Pioli.
“There were injuries yes, but also we needed to have a more ferocious press, more careful preventative marking and I think many of our improvements have come from the defensive phase.
“When it comes to attacking, the coach can have less of an impact, as more is down to the individual skill and talent of the forwards. When it comes to defending, even the small details like an extra push, run or tackle can make a big difference.”