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AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli said he thought Manchester United would be the perfect opponent for his team when the two teams met in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Pioli’s Milan managed to tie in stoppage time at Old Trafford on Thursday to seal a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Europa League tie, meaning United have it all to do if they want to. qualify for the quarterfinals.
Amad Diallo put United ahead with a fantastic header, his first goal for the club, but Simon Kjaer appeared with a last-gasp draw from a corner to give Milan a slight lead heading into the second leg at San Siro la next week.
And since then, Pioli has praised the personality on their side after they stood their ground to deliver what could be a decisive blow for the Red Devils.
Pioli told Sky Sport Italia: ‘The team played with personality. We suffer in difficult times. We knew they have quality, but this performance should boost our confidence in ourselves.
“When we faced Manchester United, I thought they were the right opponent for us.
‘We are working to improve and try to win again. We want to take Milan where we belong and these are the games where you can improve.
“We want to go all the way and to do that we have to beat these teams. Today’s result is positive, but we have another difficult game ahead of us. The work is not finished. They are a great team.
‘I am satisfied. I keep repeating that I am not training a regular group. This is an extraordinary group, by any measure.
‘When I see the boys give their souls to get a good result, I can only be happy. It’s probably a result that we would have accepted before the game. After that, I can say that we can deserve something more, but it’s a good result. ‘
AC Milan had a chance to punish United further on Thursday and actually nearly took the lead in the 11th minute when Franck Kessie had a handball volley severely disallowed.
And since then Pioli has revealed that Kessie is convinced it wasn’t handball at Old Trafford.
“That goal would have given us more strength, especially mentally,” added Pioli. “Franck is convinced that he did not touch the ball with his hand, but the referee thought otherwise.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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