Gabbia refers to his time in Spain after derby winning goal: “It served me well” | OneFootball

AC Milan won their first derby since 2022 on Sunday night, and they have Matteo Gabbia to thank for the late winner. The defender has been immensely impressive since returning to the club in January, and he spoke about the time he spent away from the club after the derby.

Gabbia’s upsurge in impact has been phenomenal. When Milan were at the height of their defensive crisis, many expected the club to spend money on reinforcements, but instead, they brought back Gabbia six months early from his loan spell at Villarreal.

A decision that was overlooked originally, but a fantastic decision in hindsight. Not a flashy addition to the squad, Gabbia quickly became a vital figure in the second half of the season for the Rossoneri, and when called upon he delivered.

However, with the Diavolo adding Strahinja Pavlovic to the squad, there were questions about what role he could play. Nevertheless, he has still played some minutes, and he gave Paulo Fonseca a reason to keep him in the lineup with a fantastic goal against Inter.

Speaking to Alberto Rimedio after the game, Gabbia looked back at his loan spell in Spain and explained how it helped him get where he is currently, and his words have been relayed by Radio Rossonera.

Matteo, exactly a year ago you were living at Villarreal, with a handful of appearances on the fringes of the Yellow Submarine project. Did you ever imagine that you could experience a night like this?

“I always work at my best. Then, honestly, at Villarreal in six months I played 15 games, so… There it’s a slightly different mentality, there was more alternation in the players.

However, I was highly regarded in that experience and it served me well. I work, as I said before, always to the best of my ability. And consequently, my dream is to experience evenings like that and to play matches like that. So, absolutely yes. In my head, my goal is to try to experience as many evenings of this level as possible.”