PIOLI: "WE'LL HAVE TO BATTLE HARD AGAINST TORINO"

The Rossoneri have recorded five consecutive wins in the league, with their latest victory over Bologna keeping spirits high. Now, the team are after a sixth successive success, which they’ll be aiming to achieve when they face Ivan Jurić’s Torino at San Siro. Coach Stefano Pioli held a press conference to preview tomorrow’s 20:45 CEST kick-off. 

GOALS CONCEDED
"We need to be more alert, more compact and communicate better. In order to win, you need to concede very few goals; we need to pay more attention in the defensive phase."

THE SERIE A STANDINGS
"It's too soon to be talking about them, really; 9 games out of 36 isn't many. It's only right that the fans are proud of the team but we just need to focus on the game against Torino and then Roma. We're a strong side; we're competitive and we can mix it with the best but these recent games have shown that our opponents are strong too, both tactically and physically. We're playing against top sides and that means we need to maintain a consistently high level of performance."

IBRA AND GIROUD
"These were two very peculiar games. We certainly profited from the physicality and presence of Olivier and Zlatan. Neither of the two is 100% fit but it's important that they continue to perform at a high level in training because both of them are playing more games than they're doing training sessions."

ALARM BELLS
"We weren't at our best against Porto. We let them into it by not playing with the right attitude. In the other games, we faced issues that are common in this division - our opponents do exist too. You can always do better - we know that - and we always analyse our matches based on the performance, not just the result." 

THE TOPIC OF REFEREEING
"The basis must be to always regard the referees in good faith. I want to see consistent decisions being made in the same match but we can't keep discussing it. We need to accept their decisions because these are things that we cannot control." 

INJURIES AND RETURNEES
"If Theo trains with the squad - as I think he will - then he will be available for the game. I don't think he'll start but he might come on later. Kessie is fit and available."

TĂTĂRUŞANU'S DEVELOPMENT
"Ciprian is improving. He's putting in good performances and we have faith in him. We have no doubts."

FOUR DIFFICULT GAMES
"Our run is like this until December. The schedule is packed with tough fixtures. Torino are a good side and are playing really well at the moment. Jurić is doing a fantastic job - as he did with Verona - and it will be a tough game. I expect Torino to be combative and positive, as they have been in recent matches. We know what to expect; they have a strong squad and are doing well. We'll have to play well from a technical standpoint and we can't let Torino have anything because they like to press man to man. They have a similar style of football to Verona."  

POBEGA'S GROWTH
"Tommaso is doing really well with Torino. He's the perfect kind of player for Jurić. He's developing nicely and is constantly improving."

THE FINAL STEP
"We've been doing well for some time now but we need to be more consistent if we're to avoid any more slip-ups. We need to learn to win the tough games, in which maybe you aren't necessarily the better team."

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