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Marco Landucci joked about ending up in the dugout with Massimiliano Allegri suspended, and praised the AC Milan squad for their attitude.
Milan made light work of Lecce in their Coppa Italia round of 32 meeting, beating them by a three-goal margin. It is the second time in less than a month that the Rossoneri have prevailed in this fixture, having won 2-0 at the Stadio Via del Mare in late August.
The outcome was heavily influenced by the red card that Jamil Siebert got for a last-man challenge, after a VAR review. However, Milan could still only beat what was in front of them, and they created plenty of chances either side of the sending off.
Santiago Gimenez got the opener not long after the red card, then in the second half Christopher Nkunku’s scissor kick and Christian Pulisic’s first-time finish made sure of a spot in the last 16, where Lazio await.
Landucci spoke to Mediaset after the full-time whistle to give his thoughts on a job well done, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.
Gimenez finally broke his duck…
“It’s normal, a striker has to score goals, but the performances were good. He always made himself available to the team, it was natural that he would score. I’m happy he did it tonight.”
Milan are improving a lot, would it be fair to say?
“I think we started a bit slow. We needed to speed up the game a bit in the first half. We did better in the second half. Lecce were at a disadvantage by being down to ten men. We wanted to advance, and we’re happy.”
What are the targets?
“Goals are important, but we have to take it one game at a time. I’m very happy with the team’s attitude; they’re a wonderful group that works hard and pays attention to everything. There’s a great atmosphere at Milanello.
“We have to stay very focused, keep working and improve. There’s no maintenance: you either get better or you get worse. We always want to improve, this must be the goal of Milan players.
“The details, going one metre further, not allowing shots, running forward are important things that the team is doing well and must continue to do with humility, game after game.”
Does the big match against Napoli come at the right time?
“It’ll be a great challenge. It’ll be a great match, they’re very strong. We’ll start preparing for it tomorrow. This year they’ve strengthened even more, it will be one of those matches all the players want to play.
“We’re approaching the match with humility, hoping it’ll be a good match. Sunday will be important, but it’s matchday five and we need to be very calm.”
Are we sure we’ll find Allegri on the bench in December, and not you?
“No, that’s enough. I’ve already done too much. I have to stop him [from getting banned], I have to be a little more careful. It’s good that he’s here, it’s important for the team that the coach is there. We’re trying to lend a hand and not cause any damage.”
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