PIOLI: "NEED TO KEEP THE RUN GOING"

Back to it in Serie A. Following a vital victory over Atalanta at San Siro, AC Milan travel to Florence on Saturday 4 March to take on Italiano's Fiorentina on matchday 25. Ahead of the game, Stefano Pioli gave his pre-match press conference, which was broadcast live on on Milan TV, YouTube and Twitch. 

REMEMBERING ASTORI
"Davide will be smiling down on us at the game. From a personal point of view, it's always a special game and tomorrow's will be even more so, because Davide is still with me. I'm really happy about the conception of an association dedicated to him because it will do many good things to many people. Davide gave us many lessons to take forward; he was an example of positivity and composure: he was a true captain."

THE TRIP TO FLORENCE
"The game at the Franchi is an important one; it'll be tough between two similar sides. Fiorentina press well and bring a lot of energy and intensity to the field. They'll definitely make it hard for us but we want to keep our run of victories going. We must only focus on the next game, without thinking ahead to Europe midweek, the Champions League is the game after; we're only focused on this one. Italiano is an experienced coach, his side play good football and has got some good results this season, especially in the Cup." 

DE KETELAERE AND THIAW
"Every game can be a deciding one for each of my players. Brahim won't be available for selection and so Charles will line up in Florence, but the collective will have to stand up and perform technically, tactically and physically. For Thiaw, the MVP of the month award is well-deserved. He's applied himself well - a fundamental characteristic for a defender - and is still very young in age, who has some excellent qualities and will only get better."

ROSSONERI'S CURRENT FORM
"It's up to us to perform well ,and when we display the right characteristics on the field of play we give ourselves the best chance to do well. It's been a positive week, and we've benefited from having no game midweek and recovered some energy and confidence. We'll need a lot more points and wins to secure a Champions League berth, so we must just take every game as it comes and think about only the next one."

RETURNING PLAYERS
"Obviously, with a full squad we are a much stronger outfit, and the team's level increase in every aspect. Calabria, Florenzi and Bennacer will all be in the squad for the trip to Florence. Zlatan's return was, and still is, very significant; he may even start, but won't play the full 90 minutes."

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