England international and Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has spoken to MilanTV about the Rossoneri’s recent result in the Champions League against Newcastle, his centre-back partnership with Theo Hernandez, and the team’s ambitions to win the Europa League.
Milan were knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday evening, despite beating Newcastle 2-1 at St James’ Park. PSG’s draw with Borussia Dortmund in Germany meant Stefano Pioli and his team finished the group in third and will enter the Europa League as a result.
Speaking to Milan’s media channels in a clip released on Saturday morning, Tomori said that he thought he and his teammates were worthy victors earlier in the week.
“Before the game against Newcastle, we knew the stadium was going to be really, really full, very challenging. The first half was difficult, but we played with spirit, with energy and above all with quality.
“In my opinion we deserved the victory in the second half,” Tomori said.
“My two goals against Frosinone and Cagliari were easier to score, I could have scored against Newcastle, but I tried to be too accurate.”
Then, the former Chelsea centre-back described how he is feeling on the pitch, and what it is like to play alongside usual left-back Theo Hernandez in the middle of the defence.
“I feel good on the pitch with how I’m playing. Where I play is in the centre of the pitch, so I need to talk a lot and encourage the team. That’s what I do.
“Now Theo (Hernandez) is playing at my side, we have good chemistry on the pitch. We have a rapport where we don’t need to talk a lot, we know our quality and characteristics on the pitch.”
Tomori confirmed that the team would now like to go all the way in the Europa League after not making the cut in the Champions League.
“Now we’re in the Europa League, we need to do everything we can to win it. If we play all of our games like we did against Newcastle, I’m sure we can do better in this competition.
“After the game against Newcastle, we need to bring this feeling that we have, this sensation into the next game.”
Finally, there were words on the domestic campaign and Milan’s next Serie A opponents, Monza.
“We played Monza before the start of the season, they are good at moving the ball, but we’ll do our best to win this game because it’s a long season. I know we’re nine points off the leaders, but if we stay focused on ourselves, anything can happen.”