Pioli: ‘Tottenham? Let us convince ourselves that we can pass. But now we remain in the wake of Napoli ‘

by our correspondent Marco Fallisi

November 7
– Milanello (Varese)

It’s not an eve like any other, it couldn’t be. An eye to Cremona, where tomorrow evening Stefano Pioli and his team will go in search of victory number ten in the league to stay in the wake of Napoli, and another to Nyon, where the Devil has relived special emotions, kept in the drawer for nine years: to the Round of 16 of the Champions League will be Milan-Tottenham. That is Pioli against Conte: an air of an old derby, a tough defiance yes, but certainly not impossible.

Occasion

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“Two difficult matches await us, against a strong opponent and a coach who knows us – explained Pioli at a press conference at Milanello -. We will need conviction and quality, our level will have to be very high. We must play with the conviction that we can overcome this round as well. Historically, Milan have negative numbers against the English, that’s why it will be an opportunity “. A tradition, the one against English rivals, which has been renewed in recent years: Pioli’s Milan crossed Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, collecting 5 knockouts and drawing on one occasion. “England led 4 teams to the second round but Italy took 3. Their level is high but we are growing too. We will face a great coach who has won everywhere and gives identity, and a team with many players who know Serie A. It will be a balanced match, playing the first leg at home is an important factor. Ibra with us in February? We all hope you can come back as soon as possible. It is progressing well, but from now until February many things can happen ”.

CDK in the balance

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Tottenham is the future, the present is called Cremonese. There is an away performance to be updated at the almost perfect pace held by Milan before the Turin defeat broke the pace – 17 consecutive useful results between December 2021 and October 2022 -, there are three points to hit even without Giroud’s goals and the push of Hernandez, both disqualified. Origi and Ballo-Touré will replace them, but beyond the singles it is on the team attitude that Pioli places the accent: “We have to play well and consistently. We must not let ourselves be carried away by the episodes or by the change in the result, we must always stay in the game by always playing as we know. This is an important moment, there are two games left until the break and we have to stay close to Napoli ”. ” What if Charles applies too much and relieves his instinct too little? In the offensive phase our attacking midfielders have the freedom to move and create solutions. When we have the ball De Ketelaere must do what he feels and collaborate with his teammates nearby, then without the ball he must respect certain points of reference. If he will play from 1 ‘tomorrow? Training this afternoon will allow me to assess the condition of my parents, we have played many close matches. In any case, as I always say, it is not the quantity that counts, but the quality of the minutes played ”.