AC Milan boss Filippo Inzaghi has revealed that the Diavolo will try to be cautious in their match against Empoli on Tuesday while still looking to secure all three points.
The Rossoneri are coming off of a 1-0 defeat to Juventus at the San Siro on Saturday, which has been met by some criticism from club president Silvio Berlusconi, but the tactician admits that he’s remaining confident in his squad’s ability to bounce back and hopes most of his key players are fit enough to make an appearance in the away meeting with the Azzurri.
Inzaghi spoke during his pre-match press conference on Monday about how AC Milan will approach the match with Empoli and the condition of his players, while also commenting on the loss to Juve and the situation with Berlusconi.
“Empoli did well against Roma and for a team to do well against a side like that says a lot about its quality,” said the 41-year-old.
“They know how to play football at home and they can do well. However, we are Milan and we must continue on our positive path.
“It will be important for us to play a good game tomorrow, as we are still growing and finding confidence. The boys are excited for tomorrow and I’m sure they’ll have the right spirit.
“I’m still assessing which players will take the field tomorrow and which tactics to apply since we just played against Juve a few days ago.
“Stephan El Shaarawy is still recovering from his injury comeback and Saturday’s match, while Keisuke Honda, Alex and Jeremy Menez should hopefully all be available.
“Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel? They are both doing well in the team. Torres has recovered from his ankle problem and is getting along fine, while Van Ginkel is a young man who needs some more time to integrate.
“Torres can be important alongside Giampaolo Pazzini, so I must take advantage of that when the time is right. Van Ginkel has a lot of athleticism and can alternate his position well, he can give us a big hand when he’s ready.
“The loss to Juventus? The club is still fully backing this team and everyone remains happy with out work. I’m happy enough knowing that we entered the match against Juve believing we could win, because that means we have already done a great job.
“The result we had with the Bianconeri depended on their strength. We wanted to take control of the game and it went well until about midway through the second half, then Paul Pogba assisted Carlos Tevez in finding the goal.
“We’re disappointed with the loss but only falling 1-0 means we did well, even though we could have been awarded a penalty to equalise. We will work on improving in the opponent’s half of the field against Empoli.
“The comments from Berlusconi? I wanted to give him a win, but it all depended on how strong Juve were going to be. We still played a great game against such a great team, while we’re a team that’s still in construction.
“The morale at Milan remains high and the proof comes from the fact that I have just spoken to the president an hour ago, he is pleased with our work and has wished me the best of luck for tomorrow.
“He’s giving us the hope of succeeding. I believe he will visit us again on Friday.
“The relationship with the fans? Our greatest achievement of the year has been having 80,000 people at the San Siro. These are the type of things we must carry close to our hearts in order to create the right atmosphere again.
“It’ll take some time after a few difficult years. I’m happy to see their enthusiasm return, because they’ve seen the spirit return to Milan. We remain close with out supporters.”
