Amorim ‘happy and proud’ after Udinese win but knows areas Milan must improve
Ruben Amorim was pleased with what he saw from AC Milan side as they navigated an injury crisis to beat Udinese 2-0.
Milan needed to bounce back after their poor performance and result in Bournemouth on Thursday, and that’s exactly what they did in Udine. Christian Pulisic scored early on and Omari Hutchinson netted his first for the club in the second half to seal a pretty comfortable win.
Ahead of a big week which sees the Rossoneri play Bologna and Inter at San Siro, it was important to get three points and to move back into the top four spots. The clean sheet will also please the manager, after struggling to keep goals out for most of the campaign.
Amorim spoke to DAZN after the final whistle to give his thoughts on what was a much more positive performance from his side, albeit against a team that are really struggling down at the bottom end. His words are via MilanNews.
It was quite an ‘exciting’ match even with all these injuries. How happy are you?
“I’m happy for the players and proud. We said we wanted to be competitive right away, and we proved it. I’m really happy and proud for the team, now we have to focus on the next one.”
How is the development of Milan’s younger players going?
“I think it’s impossible with this schedule right now… Everyone has injuries. So all the players have to be ready. My job isn’t just to win, but also to guarantee Milan’s future.
“We have a lot of injuries, but these players have shown me they’re ready to handle the pressure of playing for this club. I’m really happy. When I’m by the pitch, I want to be in charge and I want them to do well.”
How happy are you with Bartesaghi?
“He did very well today. I think he’s better offensively than defensively. He needs to improve his defensive one-on-ones and his aggression. He’s got pace, he crosses well, and he always finishes in training. He needs to be able to do that.”
What improvements do you want to see?
“We have a lot of things to work on. But I’m proud because we haven’t had time to address what went wrong in the last match. We’ve barely had a chance to work on the pitch, only on video. To be honest, we haven’t been training in the last few weeks, so I’m really proud.”
Who wins the Ballon d’Or?
“I have no idea. If he’s not a Milan player, I don’t care. I’m thinking about who will survive to play in two days. If he’s not a Milan player, I don’t care anyway.”
