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00:00Good morning, everyone. Welcome along to the pre-match press, comrades ahead of Lazio Milan.
00:06We'll start with Milan TV. Thanks, Nicola. Good morning, coach.
00:11Andrei Shevchenko came to Milanello yesterday to visit. Besides the pleasure to see him again,
00:22Sheva scored hat-tricks, doubles against Lazio. Maybe he gave you a bit of inspiration ahead of the game.
00:30It was wonderful to see Shevchenko visiting yesterday for me, the staff, the whole team.
00:35And I hope that that does bode well ahead of tomorrow night's game.
00:39Sky, how is the team and how is Santi Jimenez?
00:43Because it looks like he's fit again, but maybe he won't be in the matchday squad tomorrow.
00:49Will he be there for the Torino game or perhaps after the international break?
00:54What sort of week has it been that's very euphoric after the derby?
00:59Have you been able to get them back on track?
01:01Are you a little bit concerned that after a game like the derby, there might be a little bit too
01:05much hype psychologically?
01:07You need to keep their feet on the ground.
01:10No, after the game, we're all delighted because we won the derby and above all, we got three points on
01:17the board,
01:18which has allowed us to actually pull clear of the teams chasing us.
01:22And that was very important.
01:23But on Tuesday, the team looked very relaxed when they returned for training.
01:29I think the players quite rightly celebrated on Sunday night after the match.
01:33But now we have the Lazio game tomorrow.
01:35And that will always be a tricky game because Sarri's teams are difficult to play against.
01:41They don't afford you too much space.
01:44They close the space down well.
01:46They have some wonderful technical footballers.
01:48And it's important for us tomorrow night because we need to try and take another small step forward.
01:54Given that we've got to 60 points, now let's set another mini target, which is to get to 70.
02:02The zone.
02:02Hi, coach.
02:04At the start of the season, you said in Italy, with 20 or 25 goals conceded, you win the league.
02:11Between 25 and 30, you finish in the top two.
02:14You're now 20 goals conceded.
02:16There are 10 matches remaining.
02:17You've got the best defence in Europe.
02:22Do you think, therefore, you can actually at least try to win the Scudetta?
02:27No, it's not a case of trying to win the Scudetta.
02:29We need to do what we need to do.
02:31We need to win some more matches because 60 points aren't good enough to do anything.
02:37Neither to finish in the top four nor to win the Scudetta.
02:40So we need to do our utmost in the knowledge that we're up against a team that have a seven
02:47-point lead in Serie A.
02:48And thus far, they've proven they're the best team, the strongest team in Serie A, Inter.
02:52And we've also got teams behind us that are chasing us as well.
02:57So we need to run our own race and we need to have a points target in mind.
03:04We still need to win some matches to get to a certain tally.
03:07We've still got 10 games remaining.
03:08And so we certainly, in order to finish in the top four, we certainly need to win another five games.
03:19Hi, Max.
03:21First and foremost, I'd like to ask you whether you will actually be training, listening to the game at three
03:28o'clock between Inter and Atalanta.
03:30And tomorrow, Rabiot is missing through suspension.
03:33And the statistics say that Milan get 2.5 points a game with Rabiot.
03:381.5 points per game without Rabiot.
03:42That's a whole points difference.
03:43What is the difference?
03:44Is it a tactical issue?
03:46Does it come down to leadership?
03:47Is it a mental thing?
03:48Do his teammates feel they're lacking a bit of defense without him?
03:53And how can you resolve that going forward in the future as well?
03:57Maybe it's a bit excessive to say you're dependent on Rabiot, but the numbers suggest that.
04:02As for the numbers, numbers and statistics are there to be busted like Mitz.
04:10So tomorrow, I don't know which of Ricci and Yashari will play, but what matters is that the team produces
04:20a collective performance, a very neat and tidy, solid defensive display.
04:26Because Lazio are a team that, if you look at their numbers, they've scored a lot of goals late on
04:32in matches.
04:34So sure, you can afford them space at that stage of the game, but they can afford you space at
04:41that stage of the game, but they're also very dangerous in that phase of the game.
04:45Tomorrow, fortunately, there will be a full stadium, because the Lazio fans will be back, but there will also be
04:5010,000 Milan supporters, and they're hugely important for us, above all on our travels.
04:56So we need to finish the week well, with this afternoon's training session, and we'll play tomorrow night's game, which,
05:03regardless of the result of our rivals, if we do our job, the teams behind us can't catch us.
05:11So we need to simply think about ourselves.
05:14We need to get as many points as possible.
05:16Rai, Francesco Roi.
05:18Rai, hi Max.
05:21I wanted to ask you how the team are looking, especially up front.
05:28You've got everyone available, Pulisic, Lial, Fulkrug, and Santi Jimenez will be back soon as well, won't he?
05:34Santi Jimenez won't be in the match they scored tomorrow, because he'll have half the training session with the squad
05:42today, but psychologically he's looking good, first and foremost.
05:46That's very important, and we need players that will score goals between now and the end of the season.
05:50The more strikers we have to pick from, the better.
05:52Mediaset.
05:53Hi Max.
05:55I'd like to go back to statistics.
05:57Ever since in 1994-1995, wins have been worth three points.
06:0570 percent, seven times out of ten, the team with the best defense has won the Scudetta.
06:09So I'd like to ask you, is this an unusual campaign, or do these things happen?
06:16Youssef Fofana conducted an interview yesterday, and he said, we're Milan in terms of coming back into the title race.
06:25The fan base believes in this, and this is the first time that a player has really taken a stand.
06:34Do you believe it's doable, feasible to win the Scudetta?
06:38There's only one way for us to necessarily catch Inter.
06:43Inter need to lose matches, and we need to win games.
06:46There's no other way around it.
06:49So all of this chat, comeback, not a comeback.
06:53We'll see whether we've done a good job in terms of winning a lot of matches,
06:57and whether they've then dropped points as well.
07:00You can't get away from that.
07:01Andiamo da ordine.
07:03Scusa, Marco.
07:04Sì, buongiorno.
07:05Volevo chiederti questo.
07:06Hello.
07:08I wanted to ask you the following.
07:11With regards to Sarri, yesterday he said,
07:14non faremo una partita arrembande, dovremmo farla molto meno arrembande.
07:19We need to be a lot more cautious in our approach.
07:22Questo vuol dire che, in qualche modo, insomma, ritoccano un po' le loro caratteristiche.
07:27And that means that they will slightly tweak their game plan.
07:32Will that change your game plan as a result?
07:39And you said, fortunately the stadium will be full,
07:43because I imagine it would have been a sad atmosphere,
07:51a melancholy stadium without the fans.
07:53I completely agree on that score, yes.
07:56As for tomorrow's game, it will be a difficult fixture.
07:59Lazio don't give too much away,
08:01but in terms of the skill set that Lazio have to pick from,
08:06Lazio have had this sort of campaign
08:09where they're very good on the counter,
08:11they're good at shutting down space,
08:12but they will defend well.
08:19It will be an important game for them,
08:21because they'll try and beat Milan,
08:25because we've been having a good season,
08:27but it's also important for us to get points,
08:29because that would allow us to take another small step forward
08:31to go into the international break in the best possible form.
08:34Gazzetta.
08:36Hi, coach.
08:38Two or three years ago,
08:39I was at a press conference when you were coaching Juventus,
08:41as you were talking about the Champions League,
08:42and you said with the new format,
08:44it would be even trickier for Italian teams
08:47to go all the way and win the competition.
08:49A lot of people got their hopes up the last season
08:52with Inter making the final in the first year of the new format,
08:55and unless there's a miracle in Munich,
08:58then Italy will be without any teams going further than the round of 16.
09:01Can you explain to us whether the Champions League is now beyond the Italian teams?
09:09Could you explain why?
09:14It's now 16 years since an Italian team won the Champions League.
09:18That's the longest ever period.
09:21Football's great,
09:22because first and foremost,
09:23everyone can have their opinion,
09:24and secondly,
09:26every match and every year,
09:28situations change.
09:29So,
09:30yes, it's true.
09:32Italy are going out of the Champions League,
09:34but I think at this moment in time,
09:37you look at the second leg,
09:38but there are also English sides that are struggling as well.
09:41So it's not only Italy.
09:43Then,
09:45this format,
09:46okay,
09:46which,
09:47on the one hand,
09:48is very entertaining,
09:50because there are a number of matches,
09:54and based on how you finish in the league phase,
09:56you might end up on one side or the other side of the draw.
09:59So at this moment in time,
10:00looking at this season compared with last season,
10:03the left side of the draw
10:05have a lot of strong teams.
10:07On the right-hand side of the draw,
10:09they've been the round of 16,
10:10there'll be the quarterfinals,
10:12and there'll be fewer strong teams on that side of the draw.
10:15So maybe next season will be different again.
10:18First thing,
10:20what matters most is playing the game.
10:25But there isn't a hard and fast rule,
10:27just like in football.
10:28There are no rules.
10:32Good afternoon, coach.
10:35In the reverse fixture ahead of Lazio and Milan,
10:38you said that Christian Pulisic was like a crossword puzzle
10:43in terms of his fitness levels.
10:44Don't know whether he's fit or not,
10:46but we might now define him similarly in terms of his performances.
10:49How is Pulisic?
10:51Is it a mental issue?
10:51Is it a physical problem?
10:53The fact that in 2026 he hasn't yet scored a goal.
10:56Certainly that's sparking a lot of debate.
10:58It is sparking a lot of debate
11:00because he's a striker and he scores goals,
11:02but physically he's already a lot better
11:03because in the derby he produced a good performance physically
11:07and he is getting better with every passing week.
11:11Both Pulisic and Rafa Liao,
11:13Fulkrug and Kunku,
11:14they're all looking fit and firing.
11:16So up front,
11:18that's the area of the pitch where I'm pretty relaxed.
11:25One of your favourite words looking from the outside in is calm.
11:32So Milan perhaps need to stay calm, don't they?
11:38No, the strength that we need to have as a club
11:41is to try and work in a relaxed and calm fashion
11:45without going overboard
11:47and not getting down in the dumps when things are going badly
11:51because it's not like the team will get better or worse
11:55based on the results.
11:56There are times when teams struggle a bit more
11:58and there are times when a team will have fewer issues
12:02and when there are more issues,
12:07the team's rubbish
12:08and when the team's going well, they're excellent.
12:10No, the team is good as it is.
12:12We haven't yet achieved any targets
12:15and as I said,
12:16one thing we have done,
12:18which is a good thing,
12:19is to go into March
12:21and we're still competing for the top four.
12:24That was the aim that we set
12:27back at the start of the season.
12:31Now there are the matches that really count
12:33where if you win them,
12:35you stay up near the top
12:36and if you lose the points,
12:37then you get sucked into the pack
12:39because it's the end of the season
12:40and you don't have any time to then recover points
12:46because up until February,
12:47no one's talking about targets.
12:49In February, then you start to talk about goals
12:52because from March onwards and May,
12:54the season finishes
12:56so you've got two months
12:57where you need to start winning matches
12:59because that's when the season is defined,
13:01the business end of the campaign.
13:02No one talks about targets till February
13:05and then as of March onwards,
13:07you start to talk about targets.
13:10Hello, coach.
13:12You asked for goals from Yusuf Fofana.
13:15Maybe the goals haven't come
13:16but he has started to provide good performances
13:19and assists.
13:21What's the next step you'd like now to see to Yusuf?
13:25Goals.
13:26He's got assists now.
13:27He needs a few more goals.
13:28Let's hope he starts to find the net
13:29but I'm sure that Fofana will soon start to score goals.
13:34Hi, coach.
13:36In the two matches against Lazio you've already played,
13:39you've always said that these were games
13:42where whichever team scored would have won the game.
13:46Do you confirm that ahead of tomorrow's game?
13:49And second, given that you said
13:51that there are still five wins shy
13:54of finishing in the top four
13:56but before the derby you said you needed five wins
13:59and given that you'd won one
14:00then you'd need four fewer.
14:02So have things changed in terms of the permutations?
14:04No, it's only natural that 75 becomes almost mathematic
14:08in terms of the six-pointers that are still to be played.
14:12As for the two games against Lazio,
14:15the game that we won at home in the league,
14:19we ran a lot of risks in a number of situations.
14:22Whereas the game in the Coppa Italia in Rome,
14:25I think we only ran one risk
14:28and when they scored the goal
14:31where we went to sleep from the corner.
14:34Good afternoon, coach.
14:41You've been able to close the gap
14:42on the top side by winning the derby
14:44and it's been a great week.
14:45Do you feel like the players
14:47have been talking about the Scudetto?
14:50Are you trying to get them back
14:51with their feet on the ground
14:52to focus on the top four?
14:54Do you appreciate their mentality?
14:58Our ambition isn't to necessarily win the Scudetto,
15:00it's to try and achieve the utmost,
15:03making the most of our potential,
15:04working hard day in, day out.
15:06If there's one team, two teams, three teams,
15:08or four teams better than us
15:09at the end of the season,
15:10we'll see whether we're the best
15:11or whether there's another team that are better than us
15:13or two other teams that are better than us,
15:14we'll see come the end of the campaign
15:16because the league season
15:18is such a long journey,
15:1938 matches where ultimately
15:22the best team over the course of 10 months
15:24wins the Scudetto.
15:27Winning the derby has certainly given you
15:29a big boost emotionally, psychologically,
15:31but you need to be consistent
15:33in terms of your results.
15:34With that in mind,
15:34I'd like to ask you whether
15:35this Milan side has really improved
15:38in a marked fashion
15:40over the last eight, nine months
15:42because between August and March,
15:44and do you think they are ready
15:45to be consistent in terms of results
15:48because the league season is coming to an end
15:50and it's important to go on a winning run now,
15:51isn't it?
15:53We need to be ready.
15:54You need to want them.
15:55You need to have that belief
15:56that you can secure more results
15:58because as I said,
16:01up until Sunday,
16:02what we've achieved remains,
16:04but there's another game tomorrow night,
16:05so we'll be assessed
16:06based on how we perform tomorrow.
16:08There are three points on the line tomorrow,
16:10we need to try and get them
16:11by producing the right performance.
16:14They switched on defensively
16:16and above all,
16:17when we have the ball,
16:17we need to make sure
16:18we're very tidy and very quick
16:20because they don't afford you
16:21a lot of chances.
16:23One final question,
16:24Milan News.
16:25Good afternoon, coach.
16:27I wanted to come back
16:28to footballing matters.
16:30What does the team need
16:31to be very careful about
16:33to avoid having issues tomorrow
16:35against Latium
16:36to come away with maximum points?
16:37I've already said so earlier on.
16:39They don't afford you
16:40too much space
16:41because they really
16:42close down the space,
16:43they defend very well,
16:45they press the ball
16:46very aggressively
16:46and equally,
16:47when they have space,
16:49Lazio have players
16:50like Zakani,
16:51Isiksen,
16:52Cancelieri,
16:53even Daniel Maldini.
16:54They're players
16:55that are very technical
16:56in open spaces.
16:57Thank you very much, everyone.