Pioli: ‘Special atmosphere for Milan-Atletico Madrid’
Stefano Pioli feels a ‘special atmosphere’ at San Siro when Milan host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but insists it is ‘not decisive’ for qualification.
It kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
Champions League Liveblog: Shakhtar-Inter, Milan-Atletico Madrid
This is the first Champions League game Milan have played at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in over 4,000 days.
“Our fans are so passionate, you can feel there’s a special atmosphere this evening,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
“They will help us through difficult moments in a match that will be complicated. We must play with great focus, tactical intelligence and technical quality.”
Simon Kjaer is not even on the bench this evening, while Olivier Giroud could come on later.
“Kjaer is not yet at 100 per cent and we hope he’ll be back Sunday. I had three midfielders to rotate during these many fixtures, tonight it’s Sandro Tonali’s chance to rest a little.”
Milan lost a 3-2 thriller away to Liverpool, while Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw by FC Porto, so is this clash already decisive for qualification to the knockouts?
“Having lost the first, it is important to get a positive result today, but it’s not decisive, as there are still 12 points up for grabs,” concluded the coach.
Entusiasmo alle stelle a #SanSiro: l’arrivo del #Milan per la sfida all’#AtleticoMadrid#MilanAtleticoMadrid
@AntoVitiello pic.twitter.com/yHA8eFuckR— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) September 28, 2021