Paulo Fonseca, manager of AC Milan, has shown his faith in the squad that has turned around their Serie A campaign, announcing that he will field the same starting lineup for the upcoming match against Fiorentina. This comes after three consecutive league wins, though the team suffered a defeat in their most recent Champions League outing.
Despite the recent Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen, Fonseca is focusing on maintaining the momentum gained in Serie A. This means a return to the starting lineup for Spanish striker Alvaro Morata, who started the midweek game on the bench.
“Continuity is important right now,” Fonseca stated in his pre-match press conference. “If the squad is in good form, it’s important to keep as many players as possible in the 11 starters. That’s not because I don’t have faith in the others, but right now I believe it is important to have a base. Morata is fine, he will play tomorrow.”
This strategy means that Serbian defender Strahinja Pavlovic, who impressed in the three league games before the Inter Milan derby, will remain on the bench.
“It is important to have stability mainly in defence,” explained Fonseca. “(Matteo) Gabbia and (Fikayo) Tomori have played some great games and I think Pavlovic must continue to work, because he will have opportunities. The two central players Gabbia and Tomori are doing well and I think it’s important to continue like this.”
While the recent Serie A victories are encouraging, Fonseca is adamant that the team still has a long way to go. The manager acknowledged the team’s performance in the first half against Leverkusen, calling them one of the strongest teams in Europe and stating that Milan is still in a period of growth.
“Winning against Inter and Lecce doesn’t mean we have arrived, we need to grow a lot. We are improving, but we have a lot more to improve. The real Milan is not yet close, we have to do more. We can have the same attitude as in the second half in Germany, but maybe the way of playing will be different because Fiorentina mark man to man, so our style will be different.”
