Tomori: “We have to and we want to win, the mentality must be the winning one, teamwork is needed, we have grown a lot in a short period of time” | OneFootball

Fikayo Tomori and Stefano Pioli during a press conference at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Fikayo Tomori has spoken to the press ahead of tomorrow’s Liverpool game, saying the Rossoneri want to qualify also for the injured Simon Kjær.

In the absence of Kjær, who is out until the end of the season after undergoing knee surgery, Fik Tomori is the main man of Milan in defense and tomorrow he’ll play with his teammates alongside one of the best attacking sides in the world.

The Rossoneri host Liverpool at San Siro for a game they have to win to qualify for the Round of 16 of the Champions League. Ahead of the game Tomori spoke to the press:

Is dedicating the qualification to Kjær one of the many reasons you have to qualify? “Definitely. Simon is a big part of team, both on and off the pitch. It’s very sad what happened to him. We hope he’ll recover soon and we hope to complete the mission.”

Tomorrow it will be an inside and outside match that Milan have nothing to lose in. With what spirit do you face it? “We have to and we want to win, it will be a difficult match but we still have the chances to qualify. The mentality must be the winning one and we’ll go out on the pitch with this spirit.”

Fikayo Tomori during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

You’ve been at Milan for a year now. Do you feel more important? Also, how can Liverpool be beaten? “It will not be easy, they are a team with great intensity and quality. They won the Champions League recently. English football is very intense. Tomorrow’s opponents have reached good results but we’ve also done a great job, we have to give them a hard time like in the first leg. Liverpool is an exceptional team but we are not less than them.”

Do you feel ready to lead the Milan defense considering the absence of Kjær? “As I said before, Simon is a great player for the team and in the match against Salernitana we saw how much he misses the pitch. This phase will be difficult for him but there is no individual personality to lead the defense, but instead we are a team and we play and attack as a collective.”

What will the team’s attitude be tomorrow? “As a team we’ve grown a lot in a short period of time. Away at Liverpool, many players we replaying for the first time in the Champions League, but now we have grown after five games. Now we have to play another game to qualify. We will have to defend well but not just not concede and that’s it, but play our game.”

Fikayo Tomori during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

How did you prepare for the game defensively? “In the last 3-4 seasons Liverpool have scored over a 100 goals a season, I think. They are strong, but teamwork is needed, not individual work. We must all run together and that’s what we want to do, show energy.”

With you on the pitch, Milan concede much fewer goals, do you feel you are central to the team’s defensive game? “I try to give my all for the team. It’s true that against Fiorentina and Sassuolo the result was no exciting, but then there’s the match against Atlético in which we made up for it and I was not there as well. In the last few games we went back to not conceding goals, I think that behind these results there is the work of the whole team: I try to do my best, I repeat, but it does not depend only on me or on the other defenders.”