"Muntari’s disallowed goal continues to weigh heavily. The league is still long and we have to think about tomorrow’s game and get the three points that will send us back to the top of the table."

(IN THE PHOTO: MAssimiliano Allegri during today’s press conference)

Here’s what Massimiliano Allegri had to say in today’s press conference ahead ofMilan-Genoa tomorrow at 18.00:

The league is still long and we have to think about tomorrow’s game and get the three points that will send us back to the top of the table albeit perhaps momentarily. We didn’t play well in Verona but Milan put a lot of pride in the performance and respected Chievo without presumptions. Now we’re here to fight for the title and it’ll be a fight until the end. In these last games, the level of calm will count a lot and there are three points up for grabs tomorrow and then we’ll see how many Juventus get on Sunday. Maybe not even one. On Sunday evening we’ll see where we are.

Before the game against Fiorentina I was cal because the team had trained well on the Thursday before and I was surprised by the result. It can happen though and now we need to focus on tomorrow’ game. We’ll have to play well tomorrow because Genoa are fighting to stay in Serie A and they have quality players. Genoa will come here to play their own game as they won’t be able to do otherwise with the players they have. We have to be angry and focused on the pitch because right now, finishing the game empty handed could be fatal. I’m not nervous, I simply pointed out that so far, Milan’s season is being judged as a failure and I don’t believe that it is.

Ibrahimovic is fine and that’s all I ask of him. He’0s having a great year and he’s always been a player capable of making the difference.
Boateng is not in good shape. He trained on Monday but felt pain in his foot. It’s the same inflammation that he had previously. He underwent a scan that showed there’s no muscle pull, but just an inflammation. When that goes away, he’ll be back playing. He didn’t play because he’s not able to and if a player is not able to play, I don’t want them anywhere near the pitch. We missed him a lot because he’s the only player with the right characteristics for that atypical playmaker role. We’ve missed him but the team to date has done its duty. I definitely would have liked to have all players available and that definitely would have made it more difficult to choose the starting lineup.

Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with President Berlusconi and he’s very calm. He wants the title and as always he’s very close to the team. Today Barbara Berlusconi came to lunch and that shows that the proprietors are close to the team. On Monday Galliani was with us and he reminded us that we’re only a point away from Juventus.

De Sciglio made his debut in a difficult game. I didn’t have any alternatives. He’s a good guy both as a person and as a player. He can be a good player but he’ll have to bridge that mental gap between the youth team and the first team. He showed a lot of personality in his management of the ball.

Watching Juventus I can see desire and competitiveness in getting results and they show that on every occasion. Conte is doing a great job with a great team given to him by the club. The fight with Juventus is a sporting one and will go on right to the end. We know that now we have to hop that they slip up and we have to play with conviction and sacrifice from here to the end.

We hope that we can go on a winning run after Chievo especially when we think of how many games we’ll have to win. Football is good in that way, something can always happen that no one was expecting.

For next season, we’ll have to analyze the work done and try to find out why we’ve had all these injuries. At a professional level, it’s normal to analyze the year that has passed at the end of the season.

I’m not afraid of being replaced if we don’t win. My relationship with the club is great. It’s an evaluation that the club has to make, but we’ also have to look at how the season will end. I like to live the moment and get the most out of the moments as they happen. The moment right now is Milan-Genoa and we’ll go into that game the best way we can. I’ll think of the line-up after training. Muntari could play. I don’t think Cassano will start the game. It’s only been a week that he’s back training with us. He’s doing well though otherwise I wouldn’t have put him on against Fiorentina. Antonio can give a lot in these last games.