(Reuters) – AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao was pleased his decision to “gamble” by still going for a win when reduced to 10 men paid off against Empoli on Saturday.
After a goalless first half, the Portuguese coach brought on attacking players Santiago Gimenez, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic, before his side were down to 10 men for Fikayo Tomori’s second yellow card in the 55th minute.
Empoli were also reduced following Luca Marianucci’s straight red card before Leao opened the scoring with a header off a Pulisic cross in the 68th minute and Gimenez sealed the 2-0 win eight minutes later.
“The temptation at that moment (after the red card) was to take off a striker, to put in a defender, but I didn’t do it,” Conceicao told DAZN.
“I moved (midfielder Yunus) Musah to the right and put (right-back Kyle) Walker in central defence and Joao Felix a bit deeper. A draw here is like a defeat for Milan, so I had to take the gamble.
“With all due respect for Empoli’s aggressive nature and direct approach that shows they are well-drilled, we were the better team throughout and picked up three important points.”
Conceicao was full of praise for his new signing Gimenez after the Mexican striker settled into the team’s attacking formation and scored his first goal for the club.
“Santi is a quality player, I had already followed him when I was at Porto,” he said.
“Quality works when the players are able to push outside their comfort zone and play for the greater good, which is the collective of the team. These details can bring everyone up to a higher level.
“When the players all understand what needs to be done, it will all be much simpler and also more enjoyable for them. This is the kind of football that I want to see.”
Milan, who sit seventh in the Serie A with 38 points, next play at Feyenoord in the Champions League knockout playoffs on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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