Tonali scored a brace to help his side secure a 3-1 win against Hellas Verona on Sunday and retain the top spot in the Serie A standings.
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AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli was full of praise for Sandro Tonali after the 3-1 win against Hellas Verona on Sunday. Tonali scored a brace to help his side come from behind and secure all three points. The victory helped the Rossoneri to retain the top spot in the Serie A standings. The hosts took the lead through Davide Faroni’s header before Tonali equalised in the injury time of first half. After the break, the Italian footballer scored his second of the night to give the lead to Milan before Alessandro Florenzi’s late strike sealed the win for Pioli’s side. It was a much needed win for Milan as Inter Milan are just two points behind them with just two games remaining. It was Milan’s seventh win in their last 10 league games.
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Vital victory in Verona! ❤️?
Vittoria importantissima! ❤️?#VeronaMilan #SempreMilan@Acqua_Lete pic.twitter.com/KDNC8B9G8W
— AC Milan (@acmilan) May 8, 2022
“I am in love with my players, because I see the effort they put in every day, I know the journey we’ve been on. There’s another very tough one coming up, so we’re satisfied yes, but already need to find concentration for the next,” Pioli told DAZN. “Courage and belief come from your experience and your performances. For example, not taking the lead after 25 minutes, we didn’t feel anxious, because we knew that we were playing well and kept that spirit going to the end. This squad has step by step climbed the ladder, we’ve got to keep this concentration, determination and belief going for the final two games.”
Tonali scored both of his goals courtesy of some brilliant work by Rafael Leao. On the stroke of half time, Leao went past Nicolo Casale down the left flank and pulled it back from the byline for Tonali to bundle the ball in. Four minutes into the second half, Leao made a darting run down the left channel before setting up Tonali for a simple tap in from in front of goal. Tonali had a wonderful game and could have added a third if not for the offside flag on his 22nd birthday.
Pioli added “He (Tonali) is young, but so strong. I said after two days of pre-season training, he was completely different to last term. These are young lads, many of us are experiencing this level for the first time and doing it in the right way, but we haven’t achieved anything yet. When coaches say it takes time to build a team, we also mean just getting to know our players and finding those characteristics that can be used. When we have two midfielders, we can attack more down the wings, whereas like this we can allow Tonali to surge forward and use the way he times those runs. The first day, I asked Sandro what his ideal position was, he said ‘people compare me to Andrea Pirlo, but I consider myself more of a Gennaro Gattuso.’ I think if we add in Daniele De Rossi to that mix, that completes him.”
