Fonseca: “We won because the players had courage and feared nothing, Leão can do even better, it is harder for us to play against Italian teams” | OneFootball

Paulo Fonseca during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (@acmilan.com)

Paulo Fonseca explained why it’s easier to face Real Madrid than Cagliari and praised his players for having courage at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Absolutely no one was expecting it, but Milan shocked the world last night when they beat Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid 3-1 at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the UCL.

The Diavolo played a near-perfect match, shutting down Los Blancos for large portions of the match. Paulo Fonseca started Yunus Musah and Rafael Leão on the wings, with Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori in the centre of the defence, and the usual couple of Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana in the middle.

Thiaw (12′) scored first from a header off a Christian Pulisic corner. However, Emerson Royal fouled Vinícius Júnior in the box and the Brazilian beat Mike Maignan from the penalty spot (23′ pk). Milan did not give up and returned to the match when Álvaro Morata (39′) put the ball past Andriy Lunin on a rebound after a great Leão shot. Real Madrid came close to scoring several times in the second half but found a brilliant Maignan between the posts. Milan took advantage of the spaces awarded by Real and put the game to bed with Leão assisting Reijnders (73′) to make it 3-1.

Milan players celebrating at the end of Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“I’m pleased with the result but also the performance,” Fonseca told MilanTV. “We played good football, especially in the first half – against a top team. Not many sides can come here and do what we did. In the second half I think that Real Madrid were always going to react. We dug deep together and held on at the end, but we mustn’t forget that this team were losing 2-0 in their last Champions League game and then scored 5 goals. We can’t forget the game against Manchester City, when they turned it around late on. The whole team understood in that moment that they had to defend together and defend well.”

What did you think of the game?“A lot of good moments, especially in the first half. We dominated that game. We controlled possession and had the patience to wait for the right moment to attack. I think we can make better choices in the final third so that we create more chances to score. We’re still making a couple of errors. The team was near perfect in everything else.”

Cagliari coming up on Saturday…“Now back to Serie A. We need to be aware that it’s a different kind of game, and it might even be tougher than tonight. Cagliari are a totally different type of team. It’s important that we win that game.”

Mike Maignan celebrating during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Speaking to Sky Italia, the Milan coach said: “I think we won because the players had the courage to come here and fear nothing, aiming to play our game. We prepared for the match with the objective of having possession: in the first half, we did some really important things. In the second half, we struggled more but stayed together and fully earned this victory, not only because of the three goals but because we played with great quality.”

When you first joined Milan, you said you wanted to change the way Italian teams are seen in Europe, do you think you achieved this tonight?“I do not agree when people say Italian football is defensive. We too can be a team in Europe with more initiative and control over the game. Today, we showed here that an Italian team doesn’t only defend: we know how to play with the ball and demonstrated great positional play. The team knows how to move the ball with patience. We need patience to grow, and we still have a lot to develop.”

The substitutions lowered the level of the team…“Abraham is a player with different characteristics to Álvaro, who has this ability to connect the midfield with the attack, whereas Abraham does not have those qualities. When Morata came off, it’s true that we stopped having so much of the ball. They are players of different qualities. Abraham isn’t a support player and he plays further forward, but Álvaro was really tired and we needed to make the change. Abraham does work well defensively and holds up the ball, but naturally he is not the same as Morata.”

Paulo Fonseca and Álvaro Morata during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

You gave Okafor many instructions after he came on, did he not have the right attitude?“It was during the period of the strongest Real Madrid pressure. We must not forget that Real Madrid overturned a lot of results in the closing stages, they were losing 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund and beat them 5-2. Maybe the players also had this image of Real Madrid in their minds. We tried to defend better as a team, but also lost quality in controlling the ball in those moments when we had the extra spaces to strike on the counter-attack. Nonetheless, it was still a deserved victory.”

Did you expect a performance of this level after the disappointing performance against Monza?“Honestly, I have to look at the overall context. For the way I like to play my football, these are games with more space to play in. People outside of Italy do not understand how tough it is in Serie A. Monza man-mark, Cagliari up next will man-mark, you will see that Atalanta were the only team who managed to beat Bayer Leverkusen last season and they man-mark. t is honestly more difficult to play in Serie A than it is in the Champions League because of these tactical issues. It is easier for us to play tonight, even if it was against Real Madrid the best team in the world, because it is completely different. This might be why in Italy the games are not as entertaining, but it’s because they are really difficult.”

Malick Thiaw and Yunus Musah celebrating during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Fonseca also held a post-match press conference at the Bernabéu after the match:

Is this your Milan?“I have to be honest: these matches are completely different from those we have in Serie A. This is the Milan I want, but we can’t always be the same team in Serie A. Only those in Italy understand this: here, there’s no man-to-man marking across the whole field, and that’s why I need to be careful when making these comparisons. In Europe, we can be this kind of team, but often in Italy, there isn’t the chance to play these types of games.”

Why did you choose to start Musah?“We tried to stop Vinicius, who is very strong in one-on-one situations.”

Great work by Morata…“It’s not just the goal; it’s how he works for the team and creates doubts for the opposing teams, which is important.”

Rafael Leão during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

When did the idea of how to approach the game come to you?“I didn’t play Emerson Royal, Musah, Tomori and Leão against Monza because I had already studied Real Madrid and had this game in mind.”

Did you like the midfield?“Fofana, Reijnders, Pulisic, and Morata were decisive in how they controlled the game with and without the ball. I liked the courage that the midfielders showed.”

The best performances this season were against Inter and Real Madrid – is it better to start as the underdog?“No, it’s about the characteristics of the matches. We are improving in many areas. This game was more open, which allowed us to play differently. There are many matches in Italy against teams that defend well. It’s not the same playing against Monza or Cagliari, who mark man-to-man all over the field, as it is playing against teams like Real Madrid. It’s harder for us to play against Italian teams.”

Tijjani Reijnders and Brahim Díaz during Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Speaking in the mixed-zone, the Portuguese commented: “I have to say that playing in Italy is really difficult. It was a great match, the players showed great courage. We won by playing a quality game, especially in the first half, I think we did some magnificent things. In the second half, we suffered a bit, which is normal. We can’t forget that in the last Champions League match, Real Madrid was losing 2-0 and scored 5 goals. We can’t forget what happened with City a few years ago. When we scored the third goal, the team understood that it was important to defend together and well, and I think we did that. I am really satisfied, the players played with great courage and character.”

How important is this game for Milan’s future? Is this the turning point?“They’ve asked me this question many times since I arrived in Italy [laughs]. We hope so, we always hope so. This is a different match, and I must honestly say that when we play these kinds of games, I am more confident than when we play in Italy. In Italy, people don’t understand, it’s really difficult. We see teams in Europe that play against Italian teams marking man-to-man, like Leverkusen against Atalanta. It’s difficult. They don’t have this scenario; we have this scenario in almost every match. Serie A is the toughest league in the world, I’m sure of it. In Europe, we have a bit more space, more time to play a different game. We need to understand this and adjust our way of playing both to perform this kind of football and to do what is needed in Italy.”

Youssouf Fofana and Fikayo Tomori celebrating at the end of Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Coach, this is your victory. Tactically, you got everything right…“No, it’s the victory of the players who did really well. We changed things up; before the Monza match, I already thought about today. On Saturday, I didn’t play Musah, Emerson, Tomori, and Leão. I had this setup in mind for today. We trained well, and we arrived here with confidence. Real Madrid has great players who can win matches on their own. I think Musah and Emerson did really well against Vinícius, who is a decisive player.”

What did you think of Thiaw?“He is in great form, very important in our build-up play.”

What is needed to have this consistency also in Italy?“We need time; we are trying to change many things. I think the team is growing in many aspects. We need to continue growing. We don’t have much time to train, but I think we need to keep growing—there’s a lot to improve.”

Paulo Fonseca and Carlo Ancelotti at the end of Real Madrid-Milan at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

What did you think of Morata?“It’s not just about the goal. He did a magnificent job, just like in other games. If he hadn’t scored, I would be here saying the same things. He’s a great professional, works hard for the team.”

What a match from Leão…“I have to be honest, I think Rafa can do more. He played well, but in many situations, he could make even more decisive choices in the final third. He had a good game, he can do even better.”

But with a Leao even better than this, then you win the Champions League…“[Laughs] Now I have to think about winning the match against Cagliari.”