FONSECA: “AN IMPORTANT DERBY, I HAVE FAITH”

After the Champions League, the domestic league presents us with another huge game. It’s time for the Milano derby, Inter v AC Milan. The game is scheduled for Sunday 22 September at 20:45 CEST on Serie A matchday 5. It’s the eve of the match at Milanello and Coach Fonseca will speak in a press conference, available live at 14:00 CEST on the AC Milan Official App and Milan TV.

HEADING TOWARDS THE DERBY
“For us, it’s an important and difficult match. We’ll be up against a very good side, but we need to think positively: a win would be worth a lot. We’ve prepared for the match based on our opponents, who are strong, but we want to play according to our principles. We’ll need to mark better and score more than them. There will be periods where we’ll have to defend and drop back, and we’ll need to remain compact and try to recover the ball quickly.”

THE TEAM
“There’s frustration at the moment, but there is also the conviction of wanting to get out of this situation. I have confidence in the team. In the past few days, they’ve worked fantastically. Strong players arrived during the transfer window and we have leaders here, but we’re still not a strong side. We’re united, and the solution is to work in order to learn and improve. We’re not finding consistency, but we’re growing every day, including from a defensive perspective. We need time, but I’m not looking for excuses.”

AFTER LIVERPOOL
“It’s not easy for anyone against Liverpool, we had chances where we could have and should have made better decisions. Then, we conceded two goals from dead-ball situations. We need to have more of the ball to attack better and be punished less, we also need to make better choices and not give up at the first sign of trouble. Sometimes, it’s not a question of how much you attack but how you do so, the decisions you make on the pitch: Salah barely touched the ball but went close to scoring twice. They had to start from nothing after our goal, as if nothing had happened: we need to do the same, without the fear of taking risks.”

FAITH
“I have always felt the faith of the Club in my work. Ibrahimović is always positive, he’s always close by and we speak a lot. Outside voices? It doesn’t matter to me, I am focused on myself, on the team, and I believe in what I am doing.”

INDIVIDUALS
“Tomori-Pavlović our best centre-back pairing? I have confidence in all my central defenders, but it depends on the match and our opponents. I expected Pulisic to be this strong; he’s an intelligent player who can play in several positions.”

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