Stefano Pioli won’t mention the Scudetto, insisting only that Milan’s ambition is to ‘do better than last season’ and keep this self-confidence going after beating Sampdoria 1-0.
The pressure was on after Napoli and Inter drew 1-1 last night, as the Rossoneri knew a victory would send them top of the table, even if Simone Inzaghi’s men still have a game in hand.
It was the perfect start, a long kick from goalkeeper Mike Maignan finding Rafael Leao, who skipped past Bartosz Bereszynski to score what proved to be the only goal.
Serie A | Milan 1-0 Sampdoria: Leao makes Rossoneri new leaders
Over the last seven days, Milan have beaten Inter and Sampdoria in Serie A, crushing Lazio 4-0 in the Coppa Italia to reach the semi-final too.
“It has been the perfect week. There were very difficult and delicate games coming up a week ago, so winning all three is certainly a great sign. We’ve got to take it one game at a time and maintain this mentality,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
It has been a year since the surprise setback to Spezia knocked Milan off the top of the table and they never got back there alone again until now.
“Milan have an identity now, regardless of who plays, and that is the most gratifying thing for me, our work and the club.
“Our aim was to improve on last season. We currently have two points more than at this stage last term, so it’ll be tough, but we face every match as the most important test.”
Pioli was asked if he was a Milan fan right now, would he be dreaming of the Scudetto?
“If I was a fan, I’d be in the stands celebrating with the rest of the crowd. I try to work hard to make my dreams come true.
“As a coach, I am proud when the fans are able to recognise a gesture like chasing down a ball and recovering a tackle. We are at a very high level when it comes to confidence and self-belief, so the club, players, fans, we are all pushing in the same direction.
“We know there’s a long path ahead of us, but we want to keep it going.”
Unlike last season, when Inter had the advantage by crashing out of the Champions League early, this time it’s Milan who have no European commitments.
“Going out of the Champions League was a huge disappointment, we wanted to reach the last 16, but now that we are here, we need to try to make the most of it and pour our resources into Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
“Inter had an advantage last season, but I don’t think that’s why they won the Scudetto. We will try to make the most of our complete weeks to work in training.”
Rafael Leao has now scored 10 goals this season and was repeatedly hailed by the crowd at San Siro.
“Leao is an extraordinary player, but he mustn’t rest on his laurels. I don’t know if we are the best squad in the league, but in terms of spirit, we are second to nobody. I told my staff after the summer that Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali were completely different players to the ones we’d left a month earlier. They are young and can still keep improving.”
That’s 10 goals this season for Rafael Leão! 👏
The Portuguese forward beats Bartosz Bereszyński with ease and slots home for AC Milan. pic.twitter.com/4OEn7wwCKS
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 13, 2022
Enjoy it while ya can Bilan won’t last long in first place. Serie A is Inters to lose
Yes, CrUzusa, but if you’ve watched Serie A for as long as some of us, you’d know that the words ‘Inter‘ and ‘lose’ go together better than ‘Juve’ and ‘calciopoli.’
Chi non salta nerrazzuei eh…
Eh?
By the time Milan‘s ongoing project comes to full fruition and brings us back to the top of European football, Juve, by the power of Vlahovic, will be back to the top of serie A, and Inter will be left wondering how they ended up back fighting for fourth year in and year out.
Inter were once a fantastic team..of Argentineans… (If you don’t get the reference I can see why you’d support the black and blues…