Empoli boss Paolo Zanetti believes the Tuscans should not change their approach because of Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao and insists Mattia Destro is ‘working hard’ to recover from an injury.
The Tuscans host Milan at the Stadio Castellani tomorrow.
Giroud and Leao are the highest-scoring duo in Europe’s top 5 leagues in the last five games, but Zanetti believes Empoli should not change their approach, trying to nullify them.
“How to stop Leao? An option could be that he gets the flu,” the Tuscans’ boss said smiling at a press conference.
“Leao is a champion, but it would be wrong to only focus on him, it would bring too much pressure on who has to mark him. I don’t want to change our identity because of one player.
“The same goes for Giroud. Luperto is our defensive leader, but we must be focused as a department, not on single players.
“We face the champions of Italy, it is a pleasure to analyse Milan’s games because they do well in every phase. They have many solutions, they are aggressive, but we have self-confidence ahead of this important game.”
Ex-Milan striker Mattia Destro joined Empoli in the summer but is not fully fit due to a muscle problem.
“Destro is doing well, he is working hard. We believe in him and the path he is following is the right one,” said Zanetti.