Stefano Pioli explains what Milan must change to win against Atletico Madrid in their ‘last chance’ to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The Rossoneri have only collected one point in four Champions League matches.
To qualify for the last 16, they must win against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, hoping that the La Liga giants will draw against Porto in the last group stage match in two weeks.
“We analysed how Atletico Madrid play, it’s easy to motivate the guys for these games, it’s our last chance to remain in the Champions League,” Pioli said at a press conference.
“The team has been built to be competitive in all competitions. Many are playing in the Champions League for the first time in their career. We have proved that we are still far from the other clubs, but we’ll need a great performance tomorrow.”
Fikayo Tomori didn’t train with the rest of the team this morning and is in doubt for the trip to Spain, while Rebic is out of action with an ankle injury.
“We’ll try to recover him, the hip problem was caused by an issue with the obturator muscle,” Pioli said.
“We lack an important option without Rebic, so I’ll need to manage Leao, Ibra and Giroud in the best way. We play every three days and every match is worth a lot.”
On Saturday, the Rossoneri lost their first Serie A game, suffering a 4-3 loss against Fiorentina.
“We lost because we were not precise as we usually are in the two penalty areas,” said Pioli.
“We were not as focused as we usually are, we must know that tomorrow we need a quality performance in both halves of the pitch.”
Atletico Madrid have Antoine Griezmann back after winning an appeal against a two-match ban.
“They have quality up front and a very solid team,” Pioli claimed.
“I don’t know who will play, surely, they’ll field a competitive team. We know their qualities really well.”
Milan remain the Serie A table leaders despite their defeat against Fiorentina.
They will host Sassuolo in the next Serie A match at San Siro on Sunday, November 28.
They will play their last Champions League group stage game against Liverpool on December 7.