MILAN – Shortly after arriving at the Olimpico for the cup match with Alessandria, Ignazio Abate gave an exclusive interview to the Milan Channel. The defender called on the team to come racing out of the blocks and warned his team-mates not to take the Lega Pro outfit lightly:

“We will have to be at our best and watch out for their work-rate and intensity. We need to be firing on all cylinders right from the first whistle. We have to play as if it were a one-off match and put in a great performance. The Italian Cup is massively important to us and it would be a huge mistake to underestimate our opponents tonight. We have prepared well and trained hard for tonight.”