Sky journalist comments on Pioli’s ‘dig’ at De Rossi in press conference exchange | OneFootball

Sky journalist Peppe Di Stefano has revealed that something about AC Milan’s training before the Roma game felt ‘different’, while he also spoke about the press conferences of Stefano Pioli and Daniele De Rossi.

Gianluca Mancini’s first half header was enough for Roma to emerge victorious in the first leg and give Daniele De Rossi’s men something to defend, but Milan will not give up on their European dream easily. Our pre-match preview has the latest team news and opposition insight.

Di Stefano spoke on Sky Italia (via Radio Rossonera) about the day of preparation and travel for the Milan squad, revealing his feelings after seeing the look of the players and also the spiky nature of the press conference.

“I don’t think that winning will lead to Pioli’s confirmation and losing to his dismissal. I believe it is a very important stage of the season. Among other things, today more than ever, I saw a different concentration in the eyes, in the looks of the players,” he said.

“Usually when matchday -1 arrives in the stadiums, there is always someone smiling or looking at their phone. Today, however, I saw a lot of concentration even before the conversation that Stefano Pioli had in the centre of the pitch at the Olimpico.

“Milan must do a very simple thing: not only reverse the result, but also the performance. In the first leg, Milan were too bad to be true compared to what they had shown in 2024. Milan will play with more or less the same players as the first leg.

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“Pioli doesn’t deny anyone and doesn’t let the Chukwueze temptation take him. Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Leao will once again be in attack behind Olivier Giroud. For the rest, the usual Milan, with Gabbia at the centre of the defence alongside Tomori.The night will be long because it is clear that the match means a lot.

“By the way, I’ll close with a little dig that Stefano Pioli made in the press conference. When he was told that De Rossi had spoken of a last resort for Milan in view of the season finale, he replied: ‘It may be the last resort but we will play to win. We will certainly play in the Champions League next year’. A pinch of healthy nervousness even before this match.”

It could certainly be construed as a dig at the idea that Roma might not yet be in the number one European competition next season, given that Daniele De Rossi spoke about the game essentially being do-or-die for Milan.