The “Rossoneri” players did not do well in the last week. The league loss 2:4 against Monza was supplemented by a failure against Rennes (2:3). However, the three-goal lead from the first match was enough, so AC Milan appeared in the draw for the round of 16 of the Europa League, and in the first half of March they will face a double match with coach Jindřich Trpišovský’s team.
“We would easily face Bayer now. Our fate in the Europa League depends only on us,” Pioli confidently declared that he would also accept Leverkusen, who continue to rule the Bundesliga and on Friday created a new record in the top German competition with their 33rd unbeaten match in a row.
But the opponent is Slavia. They won their basic group in the fall and left behind the famous AS Rome. “It’s not an easy lot. Slavia has its strengths,” Pioli added without further details.
His head is apparently set for Sunday’s league clash with Atalanta. If AC Milan still wants to think about the title, they cannot afford any more hesitation. They are already 11 points behind leaders Inter and still have a game to play.
The Italian coach, who has been on the AC bench since 2019 and led the club to the title in the 2021/2022 season, but denies that he wants to focus primarily on either Serie A or success in Europe. “We want to be protagonists in both competitions,” he assured. At the same time, he is aware that criticism is appearing more and more often not only because of fluctuating results.
“The less we say about it, the better. I don’t want to be negative. Let’s focus on Sunday, everyone from the squad is ready to contribute to success,” he told reporters on Saturday morning.
The double leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League with Slavia starts on Thursday, March 7 at San Siro, the return match will take place exactly one week later in Eden. AC Milan is the favorite on paper, but the seamers have repeatedly proven in the past that they can trouble and defeat big teams.
2024-02-24 11:35:53
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