Milan's Coppa Italia semi-final against rivals Inter will not have a decisive effect on the Serie A title race, according to Stefano Pioli.
Inter trail Serie A leaders Milan by two points, though now the focus switches to the second leg of their Coppa Italia tie.
The Milan giants played out a 0-0 draw in last month's semi-final first leg at San Siro, and will do battle again on Tuesday with 10 editions of the Coppa Italia having passed since either lifted the trophy.
While Milan will be desperate to lift Italy's domestic cup for the first time since 2003, Pioli does not believe Tuesday's result will give either team an advantage in Serie A.
"From now until the end, we need to try and win all our matches," Pioli said. "The team are very focused and motivated, and positive energy must accompany us.
"We know very well what we need to do in the league, and I don't think tomorrow's derby will be decisive in this regard.
"We need to try and win all our Serie A games, regardless of what happens in the Coppa Italia."
Having picked up a win and a draw from the teams' Serie A encounters this term, Milan are on their longest unbeaten run against their rivals (three matches) since a 10-game sequence ending in 2005.
This is the 14th season in which Milan and Inter will face each other on four occasions, and the first since 2004-05, when Milan managed three wins and a draw. The Rossoneri have gone unbeaten throughout all four clashes on seven of the previous 13 instances, but Pioli was mindful of the threat posed by Simone Inzaghi's team.
"All of our past experiences have allowed us to become a team with more awareness," he added. "Every single one of our matches against Inter have been difficult, and the details will make the difference tomorrow.
"There will be moments where we need to put our foot on the pedal, and others where we need to slow down. Inter can be dangerous when given space, and we need to manage the ball as best we can."
Milan's pursuit of silverware has been boosted by a run of seven consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, a sequence that began with Pioli's men denying Inter an important away goal in the first leg.
"Not conceding is important," Pioli added. "I'm a bit surprised because we're a team that takes a few risks in our defending, but the whole team have grown in a significant way. We need to reach high standards when it comes to our application, intensity and focus.
"Our attitude against Inter has always been very consistent, even if it's difficult to prevent them from creating dangerous situations. They take up positions that will force us to do a lot of running, but we have a strategy that we'll try to implement as best we can."
Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey among seven players leaving Leicester
Leicester have confirmed seven players will depart the club at the end of their contracts in June, including Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey.
The announcement comes following the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season last month.
Turkish defender Soyuncu joined in 2018 from Freiburg and has featured over 100 times for Leicester, while fellow centurion Amartey made his first appearances for the club during their Premier League title-winning season in 2016.
Youri Tielemans is also among those leaving, having announced his exit on Instagram last week after spending four years with the club since joining from Monaco in 2019.
Nampalys Mendy, Ryan Bertrand, Ayoze Perez and Tete are the remaining players who are to leave the King Power following the expiration of their contracts.
Captain Jonny Evans remains in discussions with the Foxes as his contract is set to expire this month, while an option has been exercised to extend Hamza Choudhury’s contract to June 2024.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou agrees deal to join Tottenham – reports
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager on a two-year contract, according to reports.
The 57-year-old told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night of his decision to leave the Glasgow club and has now agreed a deal in principle with Spurs, with the option to extend.
Former Australia head coach Postecoglou admitted on Saturday, after Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup final win over Inverness had secured them the domestic treble, that his celebrations would soon be disrupted.
Neither club have commented but reports claim an announcement will be made when the finer details of the contract have been finalised.
Tottenham have been searching for a permanent new manager since sacking Antonio Conte in March, with first Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason placed in temporary charge.
When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, Postecoglou said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
He has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2021 and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.
Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.
But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint Conte’s permanent successor after the Italian’s departure on March 26.
Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.
Tottenham failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2009-10 after an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.
Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou at Celtic, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.
Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi calls opponents Man City ‘strongest team in the world’
Simone Inzaghi will send Inter Milan into Champions League battle with “the strongest team in the world” on Saturday evening.
Inter will go head-to-head with English double winners Manchester City in Istanbul, with Pep Guardiola’s men hot favourites to complete the same treble won by arch-rivals Manchester United in 1999.
However, Inzaghi has told his players not to fear the challenge ahead of them as they attempt to repeat the feat of their predecessors in 2010.
The 47-year-old head coach told a press conference: “I know we’ll meet the strongest team in the world at the moment. We face the best.
“We’re talking about a football match and with all due respect, I’m not afraid of anything.
“Guardiola is the best coach in the world and he has marked an era. We have respect, but we are proud to play in this final that we wanted with all our strength.
“It will be the last of 57 matches in which even the much-talked-about defeats have allowed us to get to where we will be on Saturday.”
Asked if the game would be the biggest of his illustrious career, Inzaghi added: “Yes it is, for me and for my players.
“[Andre] Onana and [Edin] Dzeko have played in the semi-finals, but nobody has ever made it to the final. It pays us back for all the efforts made throughout the year.”
Much of the focus in the build-up to the game has centred on the threat posed to Inter’s hopes by 52-goal City striker Erling Haaland, even though the Norway international has scored only once in his last seven appearances.
Inzaghi, who revealed he had unexpectedly bumped into Guardiola at a New York hotel during his honeymoon in 2019, said: “Haaland said City bought him to win the Champions League, but City isn’t just Haaland; they have numerous players who can put us in trouble.
“[Real Madrid’s Antonio] Rudiger managed to stop him very well in the semi-final and we’ll try to take our cue from that.”
That was a theme taken up by defender Alessandro Bastoni, who warned his team-mates not to ignore the danger posed by Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in particular.
Bastoni said: “City bought Haaland to win the Champions League, but they also have Bernardo [Silva] and [Kevin] De Bruyne who can put us in trouble.
“I watched a video of how Rudiger stopped Haaland and we will try to do the same. But it’s not Inter against Haaland, it’s Inter against City.”
Inzaghi remained coy over his team selection, insisting he is yet to make a decision over whether to start Dzeko or Romelu Lukaku in attack, adding: “A coach can have ideas, but maybe he changes his mind at the last second.”
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