AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli has come to the support of his struggling players, claiming that the present group is the most “cohesive, eager, and willing” he has ever had.
The Rossoneri began the season well, but have recently suffered a mini-slump, failing to win any of their previous three games ahead of Saturday’s Serie A match against Udinese – live on TNT Sports.
Pioli’s team lost to Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain before squandering a 2-0 halftime lead to draw 2-2 away to Napoli last weekend.
Milan and Pioli have since faced criticism, with claims of conflict between the coach and some of his players, especially captain Davide Calabria.
However, Pioli sought to put an end to his team’s current run ahead of a visit from Udinese, who are still searching for their first win of the season.
“I am sure about one thing: I’ve never had such a solid, cohesive, compact, eager, and willing group before,” Pioli told the crowd.
“Not even in the year when we won the Scudetto. And in so little time.
“This is something that rarely happens, and I told the players that we must take advantage of it because I’m coaching a group with a fantastic attitude.”
Milan enters Saturday’s game in third place in the Serie A, three points behind league leaders Inter Milan.
Pioli expressed dissatisfaction that his team’s three Serie A losses this season came against direct title contenders Inter, Juventus, and Napoli.
“It’s normal to condemn Milan if they don’t win three games. “That’s correct,” Pioli said.
“We must improve, we have had three head-to-head games against our direct rivals, and we haven’t managed to win even one.”We’ve done well, but we need to improve; there’s no need to be concerned about being three points behind the leaders, but we want to demonstrate our competitiveness.”
There was some positive news on the injury front, as Pioli
