Milan will need to win versus Liverpool and hope Porto do not in the final round of the group stage. Stefano Pioli held the usual pre-game presser: “The tilt is similar to the one in Bergamo last May. We have had a few pivotal matches, and I am sure there will be more in the future. We studied it down to the last detail and prepared it well.”
“Milan must be strong tomorrow night. We will face one of the best teams in the world, a true Champions League contender, which already won it and are close to the top in Premier League. There is not just Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. The more unpredictable we will be, the more we will create. We learned a lot from the first clash. We are aware of their pace and intensity. There are all the conditions in place to have a great performance.”
Milan just lost Rafael Leao to a thigh strain: “We are working on why we had so many muscular injuries. It is something that can make a difference in the long run. Surely playing this much is a factor, but that goes for everybody. We are trying everything to preserve them. We are rotating more than in the past. Now we will have to bite the bullet and do as well as we can in December, then I am sure things will get better.”
“We suffered the pressure in the first game, as we did not have enough personality and movement. Liverpool will be very aggressive, but now Milan have the tools to overcome that. Winning will go through sacrifice, attention, determination, and lucidity. Rade Krunic can play as a false-nine. I do not think it is crucial to have a physical reference point.”