The Rossoneri have arrived in Germany ahead of their second Champions League fixture, which will be discussed in the upcoming pre-match press conference. Coach Paulo Fonseca and Rafael Leão previewed Bayer Leverkusen v AC Milan from the BayArena, live on the AC Milan Official App and Milan TV.
PAULO FONSECA
CONDITION OF MORATA
“He made an extra effort to play in the last game, he’s a doubt and we will try to manage him without running any risks. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
FROM LIVERPOOL TO BAYER
“It’ll be a similar match to the like we played against Liverpool, we have to continue being strong in defence, a phase in which the team has grown. This is a good test to evaluate our defensive capabilities at the moment, to beat a good team like Bayer, we will need to be perfect at the back. We committed a lot of errors against Liverpool, especially in defence, but on occasions we weren’t precise enough in attack.”
THE CAPTAINS
“When I arrived, the captains were players who had played the most games here, I wanted to and still respect this decision. But I want a wider base of leaders and a shared leadership, giving the responsibility of captaincy to other players. It’ll probably be a different player tomorrow”.
EXCITEMENT BEFORE THE GAME
“I am always hopeful, this is a different game, we’ve done well in the last games in Serie A, but its a different story compared to the Champions League. I’ve heard the words of Xabi Alonso, I’d like to be a team which is different to the classic “defence and counter attack”, we aren’t and don’t want to be like this. Obviously, tomorrow we will defend more but when we have the ball, we also want to play and be the protagonists. I am really happy about what we have done so far in the league and I am curious to see how we adapt in a different type of game”.
THE RECENT MATCH AGAINST ATALANTA
“I watched the Europa League Final with Atalanta, and it shows how difficult the Serie A is, Bayer suffered a bit going man to man because they’re not too used to teams like this in Germany. They’re used to having space but there’s no space when you go man to man. We are not too much like Atalanta, we don’t play man to man across the pitch, and we won’t play the same way Atalanta did. From the first day, the team knew that we couldn’t defend like that and we’re not going to change for this match”.
THE FEELING OF BEING CAPTAIN
“I’ve been at AC Milan for six years and there’s always a big responsibility when you wear this shirt, with the captains armband, the responsibility is even greater”.
DEFENSIVE APPLICATION
“From the first day we have worked together, the Boss called me into his office and explained that he wanted me to concentrate in the defensive phases, with better positioning. Even coming here to the stadium for the conference, he showed me a couple of videos from the last game. Movements without the ball, the positioning on the second ball. He’s helping me a lot and will help me all season”.
CHARACTERS AND PERSONALITIES
“I am quiet and reserved, I don’t like to talk a lot but when I am captain I try to talk more. My strength comes when answering with my qualities helping the team with goals and assists”.
THE OBJECTIVES
“We try to think from match to match, tomorrow will be difficult but winning will be a huge boost. I want to win, to win you have to sacrifice yourself for the team, little details are very important and make the difference in these matches”.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM LEVERKUSEN
“I know Boniface, he’s a technical and very dangerous attacker; Chukwueze is his national teammate and he’s spoken about him this week. We will need to be prepared to face all of their team, because they play well, even the wide players Grimaldo and Frimpong who are very dangerous. They’ll need our attention and respect, but we can’t let them scare us”.
