AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has spoken about the opportunity his team have to add a positive note to the end of the season, while he also explained the decision to field Rafael Leao up front.
Pioli has named a very bold starting line-up for the derby against Inter tonight, with Yunus Musah down as the right winger and Christian Pulisic on the opposite flank, plus Leao as the centre-forward.
A significant derby awaits as the Nerazzurri have the opportunity to clinch the Scudetto with a win, which would be their sixth in a row in the fixture.
The Rossoneri will do everything to make sure this doesn’t happen, but having lost every derby in 2023 they will hope that the new year bring new fortunes.
Pioli spoke to DAZN not long before kick-off in the game at San Siro, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Is this a derby that is an opportunity to give a different flavour to this season finale?
“What matters is the season finale, a match that weighs heavily on the standings and the environment. It’s the derby, we haven’t won it for a long time and winning it would be very important.”
Why have you chosen Leao as a centre-forward?
“The idea is to give fewer fixed points and more presence in behind. We’ll see what we can do.”
Was leaving space behind the defense for Inter’s players one of the biggest problems of the last derbies?
“We certainly have to defend well, yes, we lost many duels and allowed space behind us, yes. We will try to be better prepared in situations where Inter hurt us in previous matches.”
dumb
Coach that knows that his end is near. Nice one Piolo