Allegri previews ‘important’ Liverpool clash and explains purpose of pre-season tour

AC Milan will be up against Liverpool tomorrow for their second friendly of the pre-season, and Max Allegri spoke to the media at the pre-match presser just a few minutes ago. 

After facing Arsenal in Singapore, which ended in a 1-0 defeat, Milan are now in Hong Kong to face Liverpool on Saturday. The new signing Pervis Estupinan has joined the team, having been announced yesterday, and it remains to be seen if he will get some playing time.

Allegri’s press conference

Below, you can find Allegri’s quotes from the press conference, as transcribed by Gazzetta dello Sport.

On the game…

“Tomorrow we will face Liverpool, who are champions of England, have won league titles and the Champions League. It’s an important test, and we must perform better than we did against Arsenal.

“Against the Gunners, we played a good defensive game and had attacking opportunities that we didn’t capitalise on, but for now, that’s fine. This tour is very important for us to get to know each other and be prepared for the start of Serie A.”

On the spending difference between Milan and Liverpool…

“I’m not envious because the club is working well on the market. Estupinan has arrived and will be important for us. Now we need to find other talented players who will work well with our squad.”

Leao as a centre-forward?

“I liked him against Arsenal, both him and the rest of the team. We played a good game defensively and could have been more effective in front of goal, but we created something.

Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images

What do you expect from the pre-season?

“We hope to become a team as quickly as possible. The lads are eager to work, and that’s important. First of all, we need to get to know each other and then improve day by day in training.

On Modric’s arrival…

“He’s a champion and an extraordinary player technically. He’ll be an example to everyone, both on and off the pitch.

You were in Hong Kong with Juve five years ago…

“We played in the stadium that we are training in today, while tomorrow we’ll be in the new one. I have great memories of this city. I know there are many AC Milan fans there, and we want to give our all to make them happy.”