Fonseca happy with Milan’s preseason but insists team ‘needs time to improve defensively’ | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has insisted that he is happy with what his side are showing in the possession phase after just five weeks together on the training ground.

Milan returned from the United States last week where they played three games in the 2024 Soccer Champions Tour against European heavyweights Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona, winning all three.

Tonight they closed out their preseason campaign against Monza in the Silvio Berlusconi Trophy and they got yet another win on the board, triumphing 3-1 thanks to goals from Alexis Saelemaekers, Luka Jovic and Tijjani Reijnders.

Fonseca spoke to Canale 5 after the win against Monza to assess what was another impressive preseason win ahead of the curtain raiser on Saturday night, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

Your side played good attacking football in preseason…

“We’ve only had five weeks of work, there’s a long way to go. We can already look at some of the team’s intentions that they’re already trying to put on the field.

“Today we played with two different teams, we have different things to improve and work on. I’m very satisfied because the players are trying to do what we’ve been working on in these weeks.”

Should Saelemaekers stay?

“He is a team player, he can do different roles well. He works a lot defensively for the team, offensively he brings important things. I like him a lot, I would like him to stay in the team.”

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Which phase are you most satisfied with now?

“Possession. I’m happier with the offensive phase. It’s been five weeks of work, it’s a different way of playing defensively too. I’m not making comparisons, I’m just saying it’s different.

“We need time to improve defensively. If we want to be a team that presses high there are things to improve. In the first 20 minutes we did well, we recovered high balls. We need time to continue improving.”

A big season awaits for Leao…

“We are working together, I am very satisfied. It seems to me that Rafa is more inclined to work for the team defensively. I am sure he will be a different player.”

During the match you gave directions in Portuguese…

“For Rafa who was next to me. But here we speak all languages.”