MY ACCOUNT
Stefano Pioli hailed the united front that Milan displayed in the 3-0 win over Venezia as he marked 400 games as a Serie A head coach.
The former Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina boss saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic give Milan a second-minute lead, before Theo Hernandez’s second-half double wrapped up the points.
Pioli became just the eighth head coach in Serie A, in the three-points-for-a-win era, to reach take charge of 400 matches, and said he was only made aware of the landmark by Milan’s communications boss.
Victory at Venezia nudged Milan ahead of Inter at the top of the table, ahead of the Nerazzurri’s clash with Lazio later on Sunday, as Pioli’s men continue to show last season’s title challenge was no flash in the pan.
“I believe that this should be the year of confirmation,” said Pioli. “But there is still an important step between being competitive and winning.
“Against Venezia it was a very delicate match, easy only on the face of it, and we were good at making it simpler than it could have been.”
Quoted by Sky Italia, Pioli said: “We played with the right approach and the right determination, we played as a team.
“We have more awareness of the past, born from all the experiences we have been having. Many young players are becoming mature, we are still a young team but we are more ready mentally.”
Milan were firmly in the Scudetto hunt midway through last season but were overtaken by a fast-finishing Inter.
It would help to have a fully fit Ibrahimovic on hand throughout the next four months. His contributions dried up over the closing stages of last season, with just one goal in his final eight Serie A games after a breakneck start, yet at the age of 40 he is playing a big role this term.
Since his return to Milan midway through the 2019-20 season, Ibrahimovic has scored 22 goals in 25 Serie A away games. The Swedish striker’s opener at Venezia means he has scored in six consecutive league matches away from San Siro, the second time he has achieved that during this spell with the club.
It also gave him a share of a European top-five league 21st-century record, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat of scoring against 80 different clubs across the continent’s elite leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, LaLiga and Ligue 1).
Ibrahimovic and Milan will be limited to domestic duty for the rest of the season after finishing bottom of their Champions League group.
Pioli might find that helps Milan in the long run, even though he remains frustrated by his team’s performance in that competition.
He said: “Now it could be an advantageous situation to have weeks free from European commitments, but we are not satisfied to no longer be in the Champions League.”
