Stefano Pioli on the eve of Milan-Napoli does not believe in the possible absence of Osimhen: "He is a great center forward, who has scored repeatedly both in the league and in Europe, but Napoli had always won before the game against us without the attacker. They have the most prolific attack in the Champions League and it will be a tough game, but Napoli are scary even without him." An important new defensive feature: "Kalulu has also recovered, so as many players as possible are, the more choices there will be".
"I have prepared the match in the same way, with Osimhe they are stronger in depth, without him less strong, but we will always interpret the match with our concepts - explains Pioli - We are calm, we have prepared the match in the way better. It's a tough challenge, we know we have to put in a great performance."
Comparison with the two matches in the championship: "This is another competition, the direct clashes were two difficult matches between two strong teams. But each match makes its own story, they can also bring different situations, we must be able in the election".
While the coach of the Neapolitans on the eve of the first quarter-final match: "We won even without Osimhen"
The strength of the group and of the mind. This is Luciano Spalletti's recipe for the first quarter-final match of the Champions League against Milan: "We need a mentality of champions, who do not differentiate between playing at home or away, regardless of who we are facing." The big absence will be Osimhen, but the Napoli coach does not make drama: "The strength of a team is not the raw addition of ingredients, but the quality, how the players coexist with each other. So far we have shown that we know how to choose we play beyond the starting line-up, we won important matches without Osimhe, we are here to do that".
"If you think that a league match is of interest only to Milan and Napoli fans, a Champions League match is of interest to fans from all over the world and the footballers suffer this even unintentionally a little bit. We need a champion mentality . Is it the most important of my career? I hope there are others that are more important than this. We are at a very high point in my career, I speak for myself but also for my players."
"We have to bring the desire, the enthusiasm from where we started. When you go to play these Champions League games, you go and play in stadiums for teams that look like impossible chances, but we have shown that we know how to play well and I expect the boys to do the same tomorrow. Then we have to have fun, we have to enjoy everything to the fullest, even the vigil dinner".