UCL: Milan to count on ‘quality player’ Chukwueze

Milan coach Paulo Fonseca has described Nigeria international striker Samuel Chukwueze as a quality player that the Rossoneri can count on.

The 25-year-old Chukwueze had a Man-of-the-Match performance at the weekend by scoring the solitary winner against Udinese for what was his first Serie A goal with the Milan giants.

“Yes. I think we can talk about Chukwueze and Okafor, they are quality players,” Fonseca said at his press conference ahead of tonight’s UEFA Champions League tie at home against Belgian side, Club Brugge, as relayed by Milan News. “They need confidence, and I think they played with confidence.

“It is very good for a coach to have players at the same level and then choose according to the game.

“I was very satisfied because those who played told me and everyone that we can count on them (Okafor and Chukwueze).

“It is my greatest satisfaction to have this chance because the players are ready.”

But the glowing assessment of Chukwueze’s performance against Udinese notwithstanding, Fonseca has revealed Chukwueze is out of Milan’s starting line-up against Club Brugge tonight at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow’s team directly (laughs),” Fonseca stated when pressed about the Super Eagles star. “Maignan, Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo, Fofana, Loftus, Reijnders, Leao, Pulisic and Morata.”

The Portuguese coach reportedly left Leao, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham on the bench in a Serie A game against Udinese on Saturday, explaining that the team was “more important” than any player.

However, both Leao and Tomori will start against Brugge, while Tammy Abraham is out of action due to a shoulder injury.

“I feel we are reaching things that will be useful to the team,” continued Fonseca. “We saw important and nice things in the opening 30 minutes against Udinese. I expected more consistency, but it wasn’t easy after the red card to Tijji.

“It’s a significant growth, and I hope this attitude is the norm in the future. With this attitude, we can build other things.”

Hopefully, ‘quality player’ Chukwueze can still get a bit part to play in the course of tonight’s match against Club Brugge.

UEFA Champions League Fixtures

AC Milan vs. Club Brugge

Monaco vs. Crvena Zvezda

Arsenal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Aston Villa vs. Bologna

Girona vs.SK Slovan Bratislava

Juventus vs. Stuttgart

PSG vs. PSV Eindhoven

Real Madrid vs. Dortmund

Sturm Graz vs. Sporting Lisbon