PIOLI: "WE'RE AWARE OF HOW DIFFICULT IT WILL BE"

A fantastic night in Naples is now behind the Rossoneri, whose attention now turns to tomorrow night's match against Empoli at home. It will be another tough challenge, against a team that has stood out this season with many good performances and their ability to pick up important results. Coach Stefano Pioli spoke at his press conference at Milanello ahead of matchday 29 of Serie A. 

THE FANS’ ENTHUSIASM
"The greatest satisfaction is making our fans happy; we’re pleased when we’re able to do so. Their passion and enthusiasm are good for us, and we’re proud that we’ll being playing in front of so many and in such a good atmosphere tomorrow."

THE NEXT STEP AFTER NAPOLI
"We’re happy with our performance, but the next game is always the last step. We need to remain focused on our daily activities and the present, which will help us play as best we can tomorrow. The team have been focused and have prepared well."

ANDREAZZOLI’S EMPOLI
"Empoli are a very dynamic and technical side, and we’ll need to be attentive and composed in our work. We know the difficulties we’ll encounter, and I’m convinced that we’re in good shape heading into the game. They can play in different ways, are unpredictable and their midfielders make plenty of forward runs. Their objective at the start of the season was to stay up, and they’re very close to achieving this. Andreazzoli deserves credit for the job he’s done. In the reverse fixture, they caused us a lot of problems."

WHAT IS REQUIRED
"Every single game is different. We need to play with consistency and like we know how – with tempo – so our qualities come to the fore. This game against Empoli is worrying me: we watched the reverse fixture back and know that we’ll need to give our all. The players know just how important tomorrow’s match is at this current moment in time; our past experiences have taught us a few things. We need to fight, dig in and win when we play. We also need to be humble."

SCUDETTO RACE
"We’re not looking at other teams. Ten tight and difficult games remain, and the top five will try to pick up as many points as possible. We need to continue to take it game by game. It’s difficult to make predictions; it’s been an unusual championship because nobody has been able to break away. I continue to believe that the top five teams are very strong and capable of putting a winning run together. We need to keep the bar very high because this is a difficult league."

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BURDEN OF THE LEAGUE TABLE
"I’m seeing a determined team that has belief and the required serenity to deal with the final stage of the league season."

PHYSICAL CONDITION
"When we had a lot of games, we had to recuperate during the week. Now that we’re playing once a week, we can focus on our method of work and various individual aspects."

GIROUD, IBRA AND TONALI
"I like everything about Olivier: how he plays, how he works for the team both in and out of possession. He’s a fantastic professional and someone who is determined and calm; it’s a pleasure to work with him. With his charisma and personality, Zlatan gives everything, and the team benefit a lot from this. He knows when to be in the area and when to drop back. His presence is important. He’s doing better and will provide us with support. Tonali is doing fine, as are Kessie, Bennacer and Díaz. Eleven players play on the pitch, but the important thing is to have different characteristics on the bench. We have suitable starters and also the right players to come on."

ROMAGNOLI’S RETURN AND THEO’S SUSPENSION
"The choice between him and Kalulu is of a purely technical nature. Alessio wasn’t able to train for a week after the Derby but is now doing fine; we’ll see who starts tomorrow. I liked what I saw from Florenzi at left-back against Samp; out of Calabria and Alessandro, I prefer the latter on the left, but we’ll see tomorrow. Florenzi has character and is an important figure for us."

PIOLI AND AC MILAN
"The environment here has allowed me to work with the players in an enthusiastic fashion. Emotions need to be involved in order for the team to play in a certain way. We need to feel something within."

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