Coppa Italia: Milan and Juve are on equal footing – Pioli

Despite playing the first leg of the semi-final of the Coppa Italia ending 1-1 in San Siro against Juventus, AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli has said that the Rossoneri and Bianconerri go into today’s clash on equal footing.

Despite his opponent having an away goal, the former Fiorentina coach said he is only thinking about giving his best for the team right now.

Speaking at a press conference, the tactician said the most important thing at the moment is to play, and it has to be done safely.

The coronavirus pandemic forced stoppage of football action with Italy recording over 30,000 deaths, and many footballers got infected along the line. Paulo Dybala, for instance, battled with the virus for over three weeks before scaling through.

While noting that they have always been careful in Milan, and the necessary precautions have been taken, he said they have always supported the restart of football action after the relaxation of lockdown.

With the remaining games of the season set to be played behind closed doors, Pioli described playing without the fans as hugely damaging but added that it is the lesser of the two evils, as that is the only way.

He also revealed that during the lockdown, he wilfully pulled away from football for two weeks and left everyone to their own devices. He later rekindled everyone’s motivations and objectives by keeping in touch with the staff and players.

Speaking on his future, Pioli said what he understands is that he has 14 games to go first, but his main objective is to get Milan back into Europe through the league or cup. So, the cup competition comes first, and he is focusing on it.

Speaking ahead of the clash, the 54-year-old coach acknowledged that Milan had met Juve twice this season, and their matches have been close, and he is expecting nothing short of that later today as they aim to win the title to secure passage to the Europa League at least.

Written by Oladipupo Mojeed