Conceicao discusses Atalanta loss, how to face Inter, injury situation and underdog tag | OneFootball

AC Milan boss Sergio Conceicao insisted that his side must try to exploit Inter’s weaknesses while paying attention to their strengths in order to reach the cup final.

As a reminder, everything is to play for in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final after Milan and Inter drew the first leg 1-1 at San Siro. Both goals in that game came in the second half, with Hakan Calhanoglu equalising after Tammy Abraham got the opener.

For Milan, the chance of lifting the cup for the first time in over 20 years is pretty much all that is left to fight for this season, and could well be Conceicao’s parting gift. It would be his second bit of silverware in less than six months, however a very tricky Nerazzurri side await first.

Speaking of the head coach, he once again hit out at the media after the defeat to Atalanta on Sunday night, claiming that they were disrespectful for reporting on his potential departure not long into his tenure.

Conceicao faced the reporters again on the eve of the do-or-die derby for his pre-match press conference, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

A message of condolence for Pope Francis…

“A person who was the best of the Catholic Church, I go to Mass every day at 6:30pm in the centre of Milan. He was an extraordinary man. We will miss him with his words and his gaze.”

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What does this match mean?

“Big clubs try to get to the end in all competitions. We have this one. Congratulations to Inter for their journey in the Champions League and the league. For us it is a fundamental match, we want to win a lot and give the fans this title.

“We have to play a great match, be very competitive. Every match is different from the other, it is the fourth time I have faced Inter this year: this life of each match depends on what we do.”

Did you try to ‘wake up’ the team?

“The week of the match against Atalanta, we worked for a week and there were good feelings like before Udine. We got to the match and I had to wait until half-time to get the team back in shape. We played against a quality opponent: it was a balanced match, they had a lot of possession but without any chances.

“After half-time, in the first 15 minutes they didn’t get past the halfway line. After that we conceded a goal with a collective mistake and then the players who came on didn’t give anything to the team. We talked about this. Tomorrow’s match is the most important: they are aware of it.”

How is Kyle Walker?

“He trained with the team, even Ruben Loftus-Cheek. They are not physically at their best but they will be there.”

How do you face Inter?

“We have always added a fifth element to our defence, sometimes Musah, other times Jimenez. It depends on what we want from the game and the moment of the opponent who in every game tries to do something different. There is always individuality and their own dynamics.

“We must exploit their weak points and pay attention to their strong points. A team that has a lot of dynamics and richness with the ball but we have also done fantastic things in our attacking dynamics. Defensively we have not been good in some things and we must start from the foundations.”

Will Inter be tired? What do you expect?

“They are in many competitions but they are used to it, as are we. Nowadays the recovery of players is done quickly. I saw the match with Bologna, I like to watch. They have a large squad and the quality is always there.”

Which Milan do you expect?

“The best. It will certainly be a very competitive Milan with great confidence. We have a lot of ambition and motivation.”

Is there further motivation to ruin the potential treble for Inter?

“No. The motivation doesn’t come from the opponent but from our work day after day, it comes from today’s work, on what we have to do to create difficulties for our opponent. These things don’t enter the dressing room. The most important match for us is tomorrow.”

How is it possible that the team needed the break to get ready against Atalanta? Is there a football-technical explanation?

“We faced a quality opponent with a good coach who knew how to block our strength. They lowered De Roon and Ederson, bringing something different that surprised us.

“In the first half they had a lot of the ball but zero chances, at half-time I told them how to continue on a defensive level and be more daring. Afterwards there are errors in the goal, but that’s football: two or three individual errors that shouldn’t have been there.”

Does the Reijnders-Fofana pairing work as expected?

“The two individuals are extraordinary. We can talk about the Pulisic-Jovic pair, Pavlovic-Theo, Tomori-Jimenez… The dynamic is created with these pairs. You have to have balance. They are part of the dynamic and it’s not just their fault if something didn’t work.”

Why is Gimenez third in the hierarchy?

“It’s not a first, second or third. It’s the form of the players. He arrived and immediately did well and scored goals. In the last few weeks he was injured. Then I choose but there are no hierarchies. Sometimes whoever comes on later is even more fundamental.”

Can tomorrow’s match change the judgment of the season?

“We have to do our job. It’s a very important match for everyone: players, those who work at Milan, for the fans. A positive season for Milan would be to win the Scudetto, to go all the way in the Champions League. For a historic club, it must be normal to reach the final of the Coppa Italia.”

Can the approach be different?

“In these types of matches, being favourites or not, it doesn’t matter to me. The referee blows the whistle and the match at that moment is what we have prepared, the motivation we have. That makes the difference. We also have quality.”

How are you? Are you more nervous? What do you think about the journey?

“I’ll talk about these things at the end of the season. About everything that the six months of work have been, about what we did well and what we didn’t do well.”