AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli was delighted with their 3-0 Europa League win against Rennes.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek struck twice and Rafael Leao also scored for the first-leg playoff.
“We immediately gave ourselves a target after the Champions League disappointment, starting with the Europa League play-offs,” Pioli told Sky Italia.
“The team played well, but it was not easy against a Rennes side that is very dangerous on the counter-attack and in great form. This is a good advantage for the first leg, but we know anything can happen in football and we must be fully concentrated in the second leg.”
He continued: “Ruben only had a few fitness issues and was playing for a while without being able to train. When he is in good physical shape, and finally he is now, he can make a huge impact, especially getting into the box.
“I’ll be honest, Ruben is more attacking and with more quality than I expected. He had played against us as a midfielder in the Champions League for Chelsea and was a box-to-box player, but did not seem to have this quality and physicality sufficient to be such an important player in the attacking phase.
“I trained Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as a kid at Lazio and he is the player who reminds me the most of Loftus-Cheek in terms of quality, physicality and running forward. We are happy for him, as he is truly a fantastic guy.”
Pioli also said of Leao: “It’s only normal he wants to score, but Rafa was always calm and made the difference with assists during this period and has always been at the centre of our attacking phase. Clearly, we want him to be in the box more, he is starting to do that, but in general he has always been involved in the team’s victories.”
