‘We’re playing with a positive mindset’ – Rabiot reflects on Napoli win and Milan start

Adrien Rabiot believes that AC Milan are approaching games with a strong mindset, and that is helping them on their winning run.

Milan made a big early-season statement as they beat Napoli 2-1 at San Siro on Sunday night. Alexis Saelemaekers and Christian Pulisic got the all-important goals in the first half, as the Rossoneri got the better of the defending champions.

A red card in the second half for Pervis Estupinan made things a bit more shaky, especially when Kevin De Bruyne tucked away the resulting penalty, but in the end Milan held out for a massive three points that puts them top of the table for now.

Rabiot spoke to DAZN after the final whistle to give his reflections on what was a night full of drama and, ultimately, three important points for Milan. His comments are via MilanNews.

How did you manage to conquer a spot in such a short time?

“It’s true that I know the coach and the entire staff well, their way of working, it was easier. I also know many of my team-mates. I arrived humbly, working every day to set an example, to carry this team forward.

“They’re behind me, I’m happy with my debut because since I’ve been here we’ve won four times and conceded only one goal. There’s a strong spirit, we’re playing with a positive mindset. Tonight was tough, but with our spirit and mentality we brought it home. I’m happy.”

Photo – AC Milan

How much fun do you have defending in these games? What’s it like playing with Modric?

“In these games, when you’re 10 against 11, you have to give more; that’s the mentality we need to have. Playing with Luka is easy; he knows how to manage the game, even running like that for 90 minutes at 40. I don’t know how he does it.

“He likes playing football, he enjoys the pitch. He likes defending, attacking… Not just him, we have a lot of quality, even the young players. We also have fun defending; everyone did well tonight; it wasn’t easy. But even with 10 men, we saw that we can do very well.”

Now, Juventus are next…

“I’m really happy to be back at the Stadium. We’re top of the table, it’ll be a great match. I hope to win, obviously, but I’m really happy to be back in Italy for this season. It’ll be exciting for me; I spent five years there and I had a great time. Now I’m at Milan and I hope to win at Milan; it’ll be a really great match there.”