MY ACCOUNT
AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insisted that his side cannot be “obsessed with the past” as they battle to win Serie A, which no team has “managed to run away”.
The Rossoneri climbed back to the summit with a 1-0 victory at fellow title contenders Napoli last time out, but could be leapfrogged by second-placed Inter, who have a game in hand.
Milan next host Empoli, who they have won their past two top-flight meetings against, and Pioli demanded his team take each game as it comes ahead of the clash on Saturday.
However, Pioli’s men have won only two of their past six Serie A meetings with sides in the bottom half of the table, drawing their previous two against Salernitana and Udinese.
“We are satisfied, but it was not the final step,” Pioli said of the win over Napoli at Friday’s pre-match news conference. “The last step is the next game.
“We should not be obsessed with the past, every game is different. We must play with continuity, quality and rhythm to highlight our qualities.
“It’s been a strange season. Nobody has managed to run away. I still think that the top five teams can win many games. Serie A is very difficult.”
When asked if he was concerned about the run of Juventus, who are unbeaten in 14 Serie A games and sit just seven adrift of the leaders, Pioli responded: “I am concerned about Empoli, we saw what happened in the reverse fixture, they created problems for us, so we must play well.
“Players don’t need my intervention to know how important tomorrow’s game is. The experience of the past was useful, but we should not look back.
“Empoli are a dynamic squad. It’s not easy to press them, we need to understand the right moment. Psychologically, we know which problems we’ll face, but we are determined.
“Empoli are a team with many solutions up top. They have quality and are really close to reaching their target so compliments to them.”
Olivier Giroud was the difference against Napoli, with his eighth league goal separating the two title challengers. The striker will now be aiming to become the third Frenchman in Serie A to score 10-plus goals in a single campaign for Milan, after Jean-Pierre Papin (13 goals in 1992/93) and Jeremy Menez (16 in 2014/15).
Pioli was also boosted by the return of the evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic against Luciano Spalletti’s men and he spoke glowingly of his two veteran forwards.
“I like everything about Giroud, the way he helps the team, how he handles the pressure,” he added. “He is a very serene and determined person and it’s a pleasure to work with him.
“Zlatan gives a lot to the team in everything he does. He is a smart player. He knows when to attack the space or drop deep. He is feeling happy. Surely he will help us.”
