AC Milan forward Alvaro Morata (centre) and teammates during the team's training session at the club's Milanello Sports Center in Canargo, Italy, 16 September 2024. AC Milan will face Liverpool in their first match of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 seaon on Tuesday. Picture: EPA, MATTEO BAZZI
AC Milan will have to be perfect defensively when they host Premier League side Liverpool in their Champions League opener at San Siro, manager Paulo Fonseca said on Monday.
Seven-time European champions Milan are ninth in the Serie A standings, having won one of their four matches and welcome Liverpool on Tuesday.
Liverpool, who convincingly won their first three Premier League games under new coach Arne Slot without conceding, were stunned 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday to sit fourth in the English top flight.
“I think Liverpool is one of the strongest teams in Europe. They have a good game and strong individuals. We have to be perfect defensively, you cannot make mistakes,” Fonseca said.
“I see it as an opportunity to show our progress. It will lead us to do different things … but also to prove our worth.
“I am sure it will, the support of our fans is always important for us. (on Tuesday) it will be like that, we want to feel their love.”
Milan’s new signing, Alvaro Morata, expected a stiff test against Liverpool.
The 31-year-old Spanish striker has scored once in two appearances for Milan since joining from La Liga club Atletico Madrid on a four-year contract in July.
“It will be a great challenge, we have so many different players and we have to fix so many mechanisms, only time will tell,” Morata said.
“Ever since you arrive at a club like this you dream of playing with Liverpool in the Champions League, it could even be a semi-final. It’s strange that we play right away. There is so much desire. These are the games that make sporting history.”
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, expects to have several players back from injury ahead of their Champions League opener against German side VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday.
Midfielders Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and defender Eder Militao are set to be available for the match at the Santiago Bernabeu despite Militao missing training as he required an extra day to recover fully.
Though Real would be without midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, and former mainstays Nacho, Joselu, and now-retired midfielder Toni Kroos, Ancelotti said he was excited to start their title defence with ‘the best player in the world’, Kylian Mbappe.
“Yes, we lost Nacho and Kroos, two of our most important players. And Joselu. In exchange, one of the best players in the world is coming. Do we have a better squad than last year? I think so,” Ancelotti told reporters on Monday.
“Jude’s return is fantastic news for us. We know what he contributes with and without the ball,” defender Dani Carvajal said. “We demand much more from ourselves and tomorrow is a new opportunity to continue growing.”
All three European club competitions have been expanded to 36 teams this season and Ancelotti’s side will also be taking part in the expanded men’s 32-team Club World Cup, starting next June in the US.
Forward Brahim Diaz was the latest player to be sidelined in a slew of injuries and Ancelotti said their gruelling schedule was to blame.
“The calendar is too demanding. A new competition is coming and we don’t know how it will turn out,” he said.
“It may or may not be more entertaining. The fact is that we have two more games in this competition.”
Reuters
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND 1 FIXTURES
Tuesday: Juventus vs PSV; Young Boys vs Aston Villa; AC Milan vs Liverpool; Bayern Munich vs Dinamo Zagreb; Real Madrid vs Stuttgart; Sporting vs Lille
Wednesday: Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk; Sparta Prague vs Red Bull Salzburg; Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava; Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund; Manchester City vs Inter Milan; PSG vs Girona
Thursday: Feyenoord vs Beyer Leverkusen; Red Star Belgrade vs Benfica; Atalanta vs Arsenal; Atletico Madrid vs RB Leipzig; Brest vs Sturm Graz; Monaco vs Barcelona
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