Stefano Pioli warns it would be ‘a mistake’ for Milan to focus only on stopping Kylian Mbappé, as Paris Saint-Germain ‘are a complete squad built to win the Champions League.’
It kicks off on Wednesday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
“It is a vital match for our group, against a strong team that plays an intense, energetic, technical style of football with great champions and a coach I really admire both as a person and a manager. We need a performance of a top-level for a top-level game,” Pioli told Milan TV.
“Matches this important help players to recover all their energy lost in previous games, including those who were on international duty.
“PSG are in a similar situation in that they lost the last game, undeservedly as well. Both teams will try to take the initiative, as like us, they too are a team that likes to have total dominion of the ball.
“PSG are a complete squad, as if you press then they can get behind you. If you don’t press, they have the quality to hurt you. Our performance, in terms of tactics, organisation, technique and our emotions, we need to be at the top, but I feel the players are prepared.
“PSG used to be a team made of great individual talents, but not a cohesive team, they relied more on individual brilliance. Now they still have extraordinary champions like Mbappé, the best player in the world right now, but with Luis Enrique the team also has its own identity too. They are aggressive, work together, are compact and have clear ideas.”
After calling him the best player in the world, Pioli also warns that there is far more to Paris Saint-Germain than just the France international.
“It would be a mistake to concentrate only on him. This is a team built to win the Champions League. Mbappé has honestly stunned me, he has incredible statistics in the Champions League: 26 goals and 20 assists in 46 games.
“In order to make Mbappé less effective, we have to disrupt possession, be compact and aggressive when needed, act like a unit right to the end, because they have players who can change a game at any moment.”