MONTELLA: “THIS WIN IS FOR PRESIDENT BERLUSCONI”

The boss and Gabriel Paletta had their say speaking to Milan TV after the match

The Red and Black manager, Vincenzo Montella, had his say to Milan TV and at the press conference after the 2-1 win over Fiorentina at San Siro.

THREE POINTS
“It’s a very important win, against a team who played a really good game and gave us a hard time. Fiorentina are a strong side. Thanks to these 3 points we continue our race for the Europa League, our objective, and we lead in the head-to-head against our direct rivals Fiorentina and Lazio. The team, the staff and I want to dedicate this win to President Silvio Berlusconi: we don’t know if this was his last game at San Siro, but we really want to dedicate it to him”.

READ THE MATCH REPORT AC MILAN-FIORENTINA

GALLIANI
“He’s always there for us and he’s serene. He probably is a bit sad that his history with AC Milan is coming to an end, but he should be proud of what he has done for AC Milan and football, of how much he has contributed to of this club’s wins and to making it one of the greatest in history”.

INDIVIDUALS
“Bacca played a superb game. He showed the right attitude and if he keeps it up he’ll be soon scoring again. He won back the ball that then gave us the goal for 2-1, he pressed his opponents and played for the team. The fans booed at him? I don’t think they were all for him, but he has to get used to similar situations and it has to be an incentive to always give more and more. Sosa? He’s improving a lot, he’s got great talent. He still has to get used to this position but I am really pleased with his performance”.

TEAM PERFORMANCE
“We played a good 45′. We were aggressive and created many chances. We could have scored more in the first half, it would have been easier. In the second 45′ the game changed, we didn’t manage to press high up the pitch and I decided to bring on a defender. Playing this way, Fiorentina didn’t shoot once. The only time was with a free-kcik. We had 5 players of the national team put injured, plus Calabria and Locatelli on the bench: we lacked alternatives, we suffered but this win has a sweet taste. I can’t blame the boys for nothing, I saw the right attitude”.

SEE THE BEST PICS OF THE MATCH AGAINST FIORENTINA

THE 3-5-2 IN THE FINAL MINUTES
“I didn’t want to change 2 midfielders, we needed to be aggressive, therefore the only solution was to add a defender”.

POLI AND KUCKA’S CONDITIONS
“Poli? it looks like it’s just a bump. I don’t think Kucka has any problem”.

CLOSING
“I like to think about the present, the current management. I don’t want to waste energy on things I don’t know and I can’t decide. I am not asking myself any question. I don’t talk about this and I don’t hear anyone talking about it, I’ve been hearing rumours for months now: this change would make it into history. Let’s wait and see”.

THE DINNER
“Friday’s dinner brought good luck. I promised the boys that I would take them out for another if we won against Fiorentina, so it looks like I’ll have to pay. That’s if they’re OK with it…”.

Gabriel Paletta: “We usually score in the second half, today we did something different. Fiorentina are a very good team, we won the game and it was not easy at all”. A comment on the match: “We faced an opponent of great quality. In the second half, we were less clear-minded and it was hard to keep possession. It was important that we stuck together, we reacted and managed to take home this precious win”. In the final minutes of the game, the boss fielded the team with a 3-5-2: “It wasn’t something we worked on during the week, the boss decided to field the team like this and for us, it was not a problem. We accept his decisions and always do our best”. Our direct rivals keep winning: “The teams that are in front of us are doing well and are not missing a beat, that’s why today’s win is so important”.

https://www.acmilan.com/en/news/first-team/2017-02-20/montella-this-win-is-for-president-berlusconi