Stefano Pioli gives an injury update on Brahim Diaz after the 4-1 win over Monza and reassures Milan fans that Charles De Ketelaere will ‘get there’ after a shaky start.
The squad was rotated ahead of the Champions League clash with Dinamo Zagreb, but seemed to make little difference, as they blazed past Monza 4-1.
Brahim Diaz bagged an early brace, including a run from the centre-circle, before limping off with a thigh injury.
Divock Origi marked his first start in the Rossoneri jersey with his debut goal, then Rafael Leao came off the bench to round out the result.
“It was a difficult win, we knew Monza played good football and could’ve controlled it better in the second half, but we’ll take the points,” Pioli told DAZN.
“The team started strong, ran very few risks and created a lot of chances. All that is positive, other than a few errors that meant we didn’t control the match as much as we could’ve done.”
Brahim Diaz seems to do better cutting inside from the right rather than in a purely central role.
“He certainly prefers the centre-right position and enjoys playing there. When he’s in good shape, you can tell, Brahim Diaz has these sharp little legs that make him really travel. He had this muscular problem, I hope for him and Sergino Dest it is nothing serious, especially with so many matches coming up.”
Charles De Ketelaere came off the bench and missed a huge chance to get his debut goal in stoppages.
“Let us not forget that this is Brahim’s third year with us and Charles has only been here for a few months. I had intended to only play him for 15 minutes this evening, but we had to rush it because of that injury.
“He has the quality, he just needs to believe in himself to really bring that potential out. He’s an intelligent lad, he knows how good he is, but it is a process and will require some time with good and not so good performances to get there.”
Milan registered a fourth consecutive Serie A victory, but have kept only one clean sheet in their last 11 games.
“There were a few distractions, today Ranocchia scored a wonderful free kick, but the important thing is to keep scoring many goals. The more we attack, we are going to take some risks at the back, but it is worth it.”
Pioli made quite a few changes to the starting XI this evening, resting Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Sandro Tonali, but still had a strong result.
“You like the term squad rotation, but I don’t, because my players know I have faith in all of them. If we didn’t have so many injuries, I would’ve rotated a lot more, as I have a large group of players with a lot of quality and determination, so everyone is ready to contribute.”
Well, it s a good win and now we must prepare for champions league