Milan coach Stefano Pioli insists Serie A is ‘not too far away’ from the Premier League and admits he is considering starting Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze against Lecce.
Milan will host Lecce at San Siro on Saturday, but the Rossoneri will be without the injured Malick Thiaw.
Their upcoming league fixture will come just five days before the Europa League quarter-final first leg against Roma at San Siro, but Pioli insists his players are only focused on Lecce.
“We are in good shape for an important part of the season,” the Rossoneri boss said at a press conference, as quoted by Milannews.
“We are only focused on tomorrow’s match; if there are changes, it will be because of what I’ve seen this week or because somebody has had minor issues, or Loftus-Cheek’s suspension. We are not thinking about the Roma game, and we’ll have time to recover by Thursday. Right now, it’s too important to maintain continuity in our results. I’ll line up the best team.
“We have already won four consecutive matches but never managed five. Lecce haven’t yet conceded with their new coach and they caused trouble for Roma, so we’ll need a good performance,” continued Pioli.
“It will be a tough game, Lecce are in shape, they have recovered balance, and they have fast players in attack, but we have the quality to control the game.”
Rafael Leao inspired Milan’s 2-1 in Florence last week with one goal and one backheel assist, prompting his teammate Alessandro Florenzi to say that the Portuguese can become a mix between Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.
“Florenzi likes to set the bar high. Rafa and I talk a lot. Even yesterday,” said Pioli.
“It’s a key moment of the campaign and Rafa is in excellent shape. I am really happy with him and he knows he can still improve in certain situations.”
What Pioli said about Pulisic and Milan’s tactics against Lecce
Given Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s suspension, Pioli will be forced to pick a new attacking midfielder against Lecce. Although Ismael Bennacer is among the candidates to fill that spot, Pioli admitted that he’s considering starting Leao, Chukwueze, and Pulisic with the American star who would predictably change position and move towards the centre.
“It’s a solution we are evaluating,” said Pioli.
“I am delighted with Chukwu. My collaborators showed him some videos today, and the stats we collected in the last three games are even superior to those from his time at Villarreal. He is fit, physically and mentally, he must continue like this. He has important characteristics for the attack.”
What Pioli said about Camarda’s future and the gap between Serie A and EPL
Pioli was also asked for updates regarding Francesco Camarda’s future, as he has yet to sign his first professional contract with Milan.
“I don’t know, I won’t reply to these sorts of questions,” the coach replied.
“I understand you do your job, talking about the future, but we must focus on the present because it is only through performances that we’ll build a future worthy of Milan.”
Lastly, Pioli replied to a question about the gap between Serie A and Premier League.
“The Premier League is intense, but honestly, I don’t think Serie A is too far away, even if Italian clubs can’t afford the same investments as English sides.”