MILAN – Mark Hately was one of the stars of the derby on Sunday as the Milan curva dedicated their choreography to the former striker. In response to this sign of affection Hately said: “It was a bug surprise for me, I was with Bein Sports commentating froma studio, we were waiting for the players to come on and then this huge image appeared from the Milan end. It was marvellous, everybody around me was watching me and I got quite emotional.”
MILAN – The team will train at 12.00 today before leaving for Palermo at 16.00.
MILAN – This Wednesday’s league encounter between Palermo-Milan will mark the 11th match between the two teams at the Barbera since the year 2005.In this fixture last season, played on Easter Saturday, Alessio Cerci was on target in what was his only goal during his time with the Rossoneri jersey.Three years prior, and in October 2012, the club captain Riccardo Montolivo opened his account for Milan in a 2-2 draw against the Rosanero.In March 2012 meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted his last hat-trick for the club in a 4-0 victory at the Barbera.From 2007-2011, the Barbera proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for Milan losing 4 years in a row. In the past three meetings though, the Rossoneri have overturned the trend, winning twice and drawing once.
MILAN – Riccardo Montolivo was a guest on Milan Channel yesterday and he spoke about the atmosphere at the club after the convincing 3-0 victory in the derby over Inter. He said: It was a very special Monday, yesterday night was a special night for all the Milan fans and for all of us, a night that maybe had been missing for a long time, too long. From tomorrow we will concentrate on Palermo and not on Europe. Our celebrations ended yesterday evening but now we must concentrate on the next match. The derby is a special game, it is the best game of the year znd yesterday we took revenge for the defeat in the first match. But it isn’t enough, too many times this season we have lacked consistency so Wednesday is a fundamental match.”
The Milan captain also spoke about the 4-4-2 set-up which Mihajlovic had decided to keep using. “The 4-42 system at the moment is giving us more certainties. I think this team can also play with a 4-3-3 but at the moment we are playing better with a 4-4-2. We have an excellent relationship with Mihajlovic and his staff and I think some of the difficulties have also made this relationships stronger. I think we have always shown the right spirit even in the worst moments or the worst performances. The coach has definitely improved since his days in Florence thanks also to his staff, they know how to worl well. At times it seems they are not even there but for us they are very good at what they do and they are important.”