Xabi Alonso relishing chance to battle ‘great’ Milan team: “Facing them is an honour” | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso praised AC Milan ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League clash at the BayArena as he previewed a ‘historic’ game for the German club.

Milan lost their UCL opener 3-1 against Liverpool at home so there is pressure on to try and get a result to move up the new ‘big league’ that has come in since the start of this season, but they face a formidable opponent.

Leverkusen won the Bundesliga and German Cup last season without losing a game, and in fact the only match they lost all season was against Atalanta in the Europa League final (3-0 in Dublin) to deny them a treble.

Die Werkself have won three of their opening five league games this season and have scored 14 goals in the process. They won their Champions League debut 4-0 away at Feyenoord which was part of a three-game run where they scored at least four times. However, they have conceded 10 in five Bundesliga games.

Alonso spoke in his pre-match press conference on the eve of the game to discuss the form his side are in and what he expects from Milan, with his comments relayed by TMW.

What are you expecting tomorrow?

“We will face a great team, with individual quality. We will need our best performance on the pitch, but we are ready. There hasn’t been much time to prepare it but that’s fine.”

Do you have a game plan?

“Of course we have a game plan, then in 95 minutes anything can happen. We know our style of play and I don’t expect a game like the one against Bayern Munich, but we will be ready.”

More Stories / The Match

Xabi Alonso relishing chance to battle ‘great’ Milan team: “Facing them is an honour”

30 September 2024, 15:05

Tuttosport: The two selection doubts Fonseca has ahead of facing Bayer Leverkusen

30 September 2024, 14:40

Watch: Milan squad train on eve of Leverkusen trip – Morata, Okafor and Calabria present

30 September 2024, 12:40

What kind of game do you expect?

“We will have to be focused throughout the match. We don’t want to let them dominate the game, they are good at counter-attacking. In the last match they scored three goals in five minutes… That’s Milan, with all their great players.

“They have speed and quality, for us it will be a great match but in the Champions League all the opponents are of a great level.”

You will meet Alvaro Morata again…

“A great player, we are in contact. He is very mature now, he is the captain of his national team, he has accumulated experience, he is competitive and intelligent. I hope that tomorrow he will not have his best day.”

What do you think about Pulisic?

“He’s in very good form, he’s an important player for Milan because he has a huge impact on the team. He’s between the lines, he’s fast, but I can’t just focus on him, I’m also thinking about people like Leao or Morata.”

What are your memories of the  2005 Champions League final against Milan?

“Fundamental for my career. After 20 years we still talk about that night… It’s a beautiful memory that of Istanbul, then two years later we lost to Milan but that victory in 2005 was incredible. It was 20 years ago, we have to think about tomorrow.

“Milan is in any case the history of the Champions League, I’ve always followed them, ever since Sacchi and Capello. There have been great players and facing them is an honour for us.”

What kind of Milan do you think will show up?

“Playing against Italian teams is always difficult, you will need a lot of patience with ball possession because they are always ready to defend low but at the same time they defend well.

“Paulo Fonseca’s style is clear, they have an idea and a defined system. We will see tomorrow what kind of game we will be able to play, but we want to be protagonists, we are ready.”