Sandro Tonali looked back at Milan’s European growth over the last few years ahead of their decisive Champions League match against RB Salzburg.
The Rossoneri currently sit second in Group E after five games, three points behind Chelsea and one ahead of third place RB Salzburg. A positive result against the Austrian side would be enough to book Milan’s spot in the knock-out stages of the competition, an important goal after last year’s group stage exit.
Speaking in a press conference, Tonali first discussed his emotions ahead of tomorrow’s game against RB Salzburg.
“From the Europa League preliminaries two years ago to today, it’s a path we deserve. We started from the bottom and we’ve come this far. We know it’s an important moment of the season, which gives us the chance to improve and reach the first goal of the season.”
He touched on the pressure on Milan ahead of the clash.
“One should not be afraid. The pressure is right to be there. We know that Salzburg are a very strong team with specific characteristics.
“We have worked a lot on them and on ourselves, which is the most important thing now. Fear has to be put aside to face the game as we know how to do.”
The Italian midfielder commented on what reaching the knock-out stages means to him and the team.
“We congratulated Pioli on the renewal, he deserves it. We’ve worked on the match that must be, we mustn’t go onto the pitch with the thought of drawing.
“That’s the one mistake we mustn’t make. It’s difficult, but as mature players that we are, we have to think that it’s a match to be won.”
Tonali spoke about what went wrong in Turin and what needs to be avoided.
“Having a bad night like in Turin can happen. We started well, then we didn’t know how to manage it.
“We showed last year and this year that we know how to react to defeats, we have to do it now too, put a point aside.”
He gave his thoughts on star forward Rafael Leao.
“Leao is fine, his evaluation should not be based on Turin. Today he was very calm, he doesn’t have any kind of problem.”
Finally, Tonali discussed his favourite Champions League memory.
“Excluding the finals, the 3-0 Milan-Manchester Utd at San Siro. It’s one of the matches I remember best and one that excites me the most.”