Milan players surprise Pioli before kick-off | OneFootball

Milan players surprised coach Stefano Pioli with a touching gesture before kick-off in his final game, though Rafael Leao regretted trying to pick him up.

It was announced this week that Pioli will be leaving the club in the summer after five years where he took them to an unexpected Scudetto and the Champions League semi-final.

He is set to salute the crowd after tonight’s match against Salernitana at San Siro, but his squad couldn’t wait and changed the plan.

See how the game unfolds on the Liveblog.

As they were meant to gather to start the game, they instead surrounded Pioli on the pitch and applauded him as the crowd joined in.

Milan stars pay tribute to Pioli

Rafael Leao also tried to physically lift his coach up, though immediately regretted it when realising nobody was going to help out in this endeavour.

Davide Calabria did eventually try to join in, but Pioli managed to get both feet back on the ground.

Pioli was visibly moved as he hugged each and every player individually, while the crowd chanted his name.

This will also be the final match for Milan players Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer.