Allegri: ‘We have a good chance to qualify’

MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI believes in Milan’s chances to beat Tottenham tomorrow.

The Champions League resumes and a great match awaits us as AC Milan play Tottenham Hotspur at Stadio San Siro. Max Allegri believes his side can beat Spurs on Tuesday.

“In their last games, Tottenham have done well even in Bale’s absence,” said the tactician. “They’re an organised, pacy team, formed by technically gifted individuals. It’s a Champions League last sixteen encounter, it will be very difficult, also because in total it will last 180 minutes.

Boateng and Abate resume training
Milan 4 – 0 Parma

“I think Milan’s objective can’t be other than going as far as possible in the Champions League. First, we need to advance from this round, knowing that it won’t be easy. Europe’s finest are still in the running, so you can’t afford having off matches.”

The Rossoneri are having a good season overall, they are first in Serie A, in the eightfinals of the UCL and in the semi-finals of Coppa Italia. He continued:

“Championship or Champions League? We’ve been first in Serie A for 13 rounds and it’s normal that people talk about the championship, also because there was a long break in the Champions League. Now, the Champions League is about to resume and it’s a great motivating force for the club. Seeing that Milan were eliminated in the last sixteen the last couple of years, we’ll have to give our all in order to advance.”

Last time Milan played an English team in the Champions League it didn’t end well, they were defeated 7-2 on agg, but Allegri thinks this time to could go through the new stage of this precious competition.

“The English teams? Statistics count for little, they are there to be denied. We have a good chance to qualify for the next round, even if we know we’re facing a great team. We need to play with great intensity and technique in both legs. Tomorrow we’ll have to play with balance. Our objective is to keep a clean sheet, it would be very important for these two games. They have an impressive offensive potential, we’ll need to be solid in defence. The whole team will have to do well so that we don’t allow any goals.

“The qualification? You have to play with balance, but in the knock-out stage, when two games decide everything, you really can’t risk jeopardize everything in the first match at home.”

The 43-year-old also spoke about the line-up for tomorrow: “Seedorf? He’s likely to play, because, apart from the injuries, we’ll also have to do without our January signings in the Champions League. Gattuso, Seedorf, Flamini, Merkel and Jankulovski are available in midfield and also Thiago Silva can be an option in front of the defence. I’ll make a decision on the line-up later today. Either Oddo or Abate will play at right-back.”

Pato hasn’t scored in the Champions League since his two goals against Real Madrid last season and has really disappointed recently. “Pato? I still have to decide. We’ll have to manage the game well and we only have three forwards to choose from. I’ll decide whether to play with two or three strikers depending on how the match will be going. It’s possible that I’ll field two forwards.”

To read more from Allegri, click here.

By Meytar Zeevi, Rossoneri Blog