Stefano Pioli, head coach of Serie A giants Milan, spoke out over the performance of his side’s two goalscorers, on the back of their impressive downing of Stade Rennais on Thursday.
Milan of course marked their return to action late last night, kicking the club’s European campaign back into gear in a Europa League first-leg showdown with the aforementioned Rennes.
And, safe to say, the Rossoneri made short work of their French opponents on the night.
Despite Rennes having come into proceedings brimming with confidence owing to eight straight wins across all competitions, a double on the part of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, followed by Rafael Leão’s first goal in over a month, ensured that it was Milan who emerged on the right side of a dominant 3-0 scoreline.
Speaking to the media post-match, the subject of his side’s difference-makers at San Siro, in turn, was put to the aforementioned Stefano Pioli.
First, regarding midfielder Loftus-Cheek, who is enjoying a stellar stretch of form at present, Milan’s boss revealed his surprise with the attacking quality boasted by the former Chelsea talent:
“Ruben had a few fitness issues and was playing for a while without being able to train,“ the Italian explained to Sky Italia, as cited by Tuttomercatoweb. “When he is in good physical shape, he can make a huge impact, especially getting into the box.
“Ruben is more attacking and with more quality than I expected. He had played against us in the Champions League and was a box-to-box player, but did not seem to have the quality and physicality to be such an important player in the attacking phase.
Pioli, from here, went on to liken Loftus-Cheek to a midfielder well known by followers of Serie A, in the form of ex-Lazio standout Sergej Milinkovic-Savic:
“I trained Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as a kid at Lazio and he is the player who reminds me the most of Loftus-Cheek in terms of quality, physicality and running forward. We are happy for him, as he is a fantastic guy.”
Next, Pioli was drawn on Rafael Leão bringing a much-needed end to his recent goal drought.
Questioned specifically on whether he believes the Portuguese will always seek out the spectacular rather than straightforward, after Leão saw another golden chance crash off the crossbar, Milan’s headmaster made use of the opportunity to urge his star attacker to ‘improve’ in front of goal:
“It’s natural Leao will always look for the fun and aesthetic and we have no intention of taking that away from him,“ Pioli told Sky, as per Tuttomercatoweb. “But he knows where he has to improve. To be more of a striker, scoring more goals and being in the box more consistently.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
