Fonseca sheds light on Leao captaincy and starting Morata: “He wanted to play” | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has spoken about his decision to start Alvaro Morata despite the injury doubts and fielding Matteo Gabbia from minute one again.

Milan will be looking to build on their dramatic late derby win over Inter and really kick-start their season when they host Lecce at San Siro tonight, a team who have five points from their five games so far.

It really is a case of ‘what a difference a derby makes’ as Milan pulled out a rather surprise 2-1 win against their city rivals. Gabbia’s 89th-minute header was a dramatic winner to claim the bragging rights, and now the challenge is to keep the good spirits flowing.

The head coach has decided not to make any changes to the starting line-up from the side that started the derby, with Morata passing a late fitness test to not only get called up but also keep his spot in the team.

Fonseca spoke to Sky in the build-up to tonight’s game and he commented on his team selection and the excellent turn-out at San Siro in terms of ticket sales, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

There will be over 70,000 fans at San Siro…

“Our fans always bring great love here. Obviously after the derby they are more confident as we are. And we want to make our fans proud.”

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You’ve chosen to start Morata…

“We want to provide continuity. Yesterday there was doubt about Morata, today we made an assessment and spoke with the player. He wanted to play and it’s an important moment to provide continuity, stabilize the team. It will be a different match today.”

Why is Leao the captain?

“Over time I will explain why different players can wear the captain’s armband. Today it’s Rafa’s turn, but we can have others.”

Matteo Gabbia starts again after his derby heroics…

“Gabbia brings leadership, he is a focused, concentrated and responsible player. I think he has good timing, good decisions even in the offensive phase. It is important to have a stable defensive line, with confidence. This is why I have not changed things.”