Fonseca discusses captaincy, Atalanta’s example and need for defensive perfection vs. Leverkusen | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca admitted his desire to overhaul what outsiders think of Italian football, while insisting that facing Bayer Leverkusen will be a great test of his side’s defensive resolve.

Milan will play the second game of their 2024-25 Champions League campaign on Tuesday night, and it will be a trip to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen who were arguably the biggest story around Europe last season.

Die Werkself scored 144 goals across all competitions including 89 in the league as they stormed to the Bundesliga title, de-throning Bayern Munich. Winning the DFB-Pokal gave them a domestic double and they were one game away from a European honour too before Atalanta beat them in Dublin.

The game against Leverkusen provides a great opportunity for Milan to prove that they have learned from the mistakes they were making earlier in the season, following wins against Inter and Lecce for the Rossoneri.

Fonseca spoke from the BayArena at his pre-match press conference alongside Rafael Leao shortly after the team landed in Germany, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.

How is Morata?

“He made a big effort to play the last match. He is in doubt and we will manage him. Let’s see how he is tomorrow, we don’t want to take any risks.”

How will your side change between Serie A and the Champions League?

“I don’t say our way is always the same but the intentions are almost always the same. Later we can talk in depth about this, now it’s a bit early. But I can say a lot about our ways of playing, about the form of the team and the players, but I don’t think it’s the right time to go into this matter in depth.”

More Stories / The Match

Fonseca discusses captaincy, Atalanta’s example and need for defensive perfection vs. Leverkusen

30 September 2024, 19:27

UCL preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. AC Milan – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction

30 September 2024, 19:00

CM: Milan at ‘full strength’ against Bayer Leverkusen but Fonseca has three doubts

30 September 2024, 17:10

Tomorrow a very difficult test against a very strong team. What attitude will we see?

“I don’t think I’ll change. We need to have consistency. We know it’s a different game, I think it will be a similar game to the one against Liverpool but we need to give continuity to what we’ve done.

“Defensively I think the team has grown, it’s a good test to see our defensive capabilities at the moment. I told the players that to beat a strong team like Leverkusen we need to make a defensively perfect team.”

Will you share the captain’s armband around?

“When I arrived here I saw that the captains are the players with the most games. I want to respect this, but I also want a shared leadership, more extended.

“We have the possibility of having more players as captain. We want to share this responsibility, tomorrow it will probably be another player wearing the armband. We have five…”

How do you feel about this game being a ‘new beginning’ in the Champions League?

“I am always confident. This is a different game. It is true that we have done well in the league in the last few games, but I have to say that Serie A is very different from these games we have in the Champions League.

“Today I was made to read Xabi Alonso’s words. When we talk about Italian teams, we always say the same thing. That Italian teams are good at defending and playing on the counter-attack. I would like other things to be said when we talk about Milan, we have to work because we don’t want to be like that.

“Tomorrow we will obviously defend because we will play against a very strong team, but when we have the ball we still want to play. I am curious to see the team’s behaviour in a different game to those we had in Serie A.”

Did you see the Atalanta match in the final against Bayer? Can Milan afford that attacking attitude?

“Yes, I saw it. It shows how difficult Serie A is. Leverkusen faced a scenario that here, in Germany, they don’t have these kind of man-to-man situations. Even Rice, from Arsenal, said it was difficult to have that one-on-one, man-to-man scenario.

“Changing the team to play against a team that plays man-to-man is always difficult. But we are not like Atalanta, not man-to-man all over the pitch. Tomorrow watching Milan will not be the same as watching Atalanta when they played against them.

“Atalanta created a lot of difficulties for Bayer, but if I am not a man-to-man coach I cannot tell my players to go and play like that. It will be totally different.”

How do you prepare for games like this?

“When I prepare the matches I prepare all the moments. Defensively we have to play a perfect defensive game to win, but I prepare all the situations. I know it will be difficult, but when we have the ball we want to be an attacking team, that attacks and hurts Bayer.”

What mistake did you make against Liverpool that you don’t want to see tomorrow night?

“We made a lot of mistakes against Liverpool, when you make mistakes against these teams it’s difficult and I think we made more mistakes defensively. There won’t be many opportunities against these teams.”

How would you like to define Milan’s formation?

“It’s difficult (laughs). I keep saying that it’s not a 4-2-… It can be many things. It depends on the moment, where we’re playing…

“What I know is that when we talk about Morata and Abraham we are more attacking but we play with them because they work so hard defensively. We are stronger both offensively and defensively.”