Stefano Pioli is determined that his side will be able to right their wrongs when they attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Inter on Tuesday night.
The Rossoneri coach admitted to the media at his pre-match press conference that the team have made some mistakes in recent matches, but the past is ‘irrelevant’, and is confident that his side will be able to capitalise on some of their opponents’ potential slip-ups as well.
Pioli confessed that it won’t be easy, but he has endless belief in the quality he has available within his ranks.
When asked how the squad have been getting themselves ready for the semi-final, Pioli replied: “They are preparing in the best possible way, they have great determination, to do better than the first leg and win the game.
“It’s not easy to prepare for tomorrow, but we have an important goal in mind: to win the match to qualify for the final like nobody would have ever predicted. Now more than ever, nobody thinks that Milan can reach the final. I know that we can play a great match.”
“We want to perform at a high level. The levels in the second half won’t be enough, we have the ability to raise it. It’s a long match, we want to start it well, then stay in it and take advantage of their mistakes.
“We haven’t talked about Spezia, only about tomorrow. These are the sorts of games that some players dream of experiencing. We know we’re starting with a disadvantage, but we have the quality to overturn it.”
There are certain things that Pioli knows his team needs to cope better with, particularly on set-pieces, an element of the game that proved to be a massive advantage for Inter last time out.
“We have to be careful (of set-pieces),” he said. “It’s one of our opponents’ biggest strengths. We too will have to take advantage of the opportunities we get, better than the first leg, Inter defend very well.
“We’ve made some mistakes. But the past is irrelevant. Tomorrow we’ll try to limit our mistakes to a minimum, we’ll have to be more determined and ready to read those situations better.”
Whilst Ismael Bennacer has been ruled out for the rest of the season after the injury he picked up in the first leg, there is growing confidence that Rafael Leao will be fit enough to return to the starting line-up against the Nerazzurri.
“He’s better, like Krunic and Messias, they should do some finishing today. If everything goes as planned they’ll be available,” Pioli said.
Kick off at San Siro is scheduled for 20.00 on Tuesday evening.