Tomori Praises Milan's Double Clean Sheet Against Inter: 'It's Not Easy'

Fikayo Tomori has highlighted AC Milan's enhanced defensive strength as a crucial factor in their improved Serie A performance this season. He specifically noted the challenge of "playing two games against Inter and not conceding a goal," emphasizing the difficulty of such an achievement.

Tomori was part of the starting lineup in Milan's recent 1-0 triumph over city rivals Inter in the Derby della Madonnina. This victory marks Milan's fifth win in their last seven encounters against the Nerazzurri, a period during which they have remained undefeated. Significantly, it was also the second consecutive match where Massimiliano Allegri's side kept a clean sheet against Cristian Chivu's team.

Tomori Reacts to Milan's 1-0 Inter Victory: 'To Play Two Games Against Inter and Not Concede a Goal, It's Not Easy'

The Rossoneri now trail league leaders Inter by seven points with ten games remaining in the Serie A season, positioning themselves as perhaps the only serious contenders still capable of pressuring Chivu's squad.

When asked after the Inter match about Milan's chances of closing the seven-point gap, Tomori responded with a pragmatic "Who knows." He added in a post-match interview: "I think at this point in time we just have to focus on ourselves. Obviously tonight was an important game, happy to have won. A good performance against a very, very good team."

He continued, "The derby is always a special game and always a difficult game. We’re just focused on winning, happy to have done that. Now we just have to go onto the next game, rest and recover, enjoy tonight. Just focus on ourselves like I said, keep going and try to finish the season as strongly as possible.”

Regarding post-match celebrations, Tomori jokingly remarked, "I’m not sure. I don’t want the Mister to hear me, so I just have to stay quiet!”

Tomori asserted that the Milan squad required no extra motivation for the derby, given its inherent importance. He also felt that Milan could have easily added more goals before halftime. "I think in these kinds of games the Mister doesn’t really have to say too much because it’s a derby, you know how important it is for the club, for ourselves, for the fans, everyone," he explained.

He reflected on their approach: "The way that we approached the game in the first half, we put them under pressure, we had chances to score. Obviously we did score in the first half, but we had a lot of really dangerous opportunities and probably could have scored more. At the end of the day and especially at this stage of the season, three points is all that really matters, so yeah, we’re really happy.”

Tomori agreed that playing on the right side of Massimiliano Allegri’s back three formation has been beneficial for his performance this season. "Yeah, I think so. I think I can show the different qualities that I have," he stated. "Obviously my first job is to defend, so try to do that, try to do my job first, but I think in games like today where there’s a bit of space, I can affect the game going forwards.”

Currently in second place in Serie A, AC Milan appears poised to achieve Allegri's objective of Champions League qualification. Despite the seven-point deficit to the league leaders, this represents a significant improvement from their ninth-place finish last season.

Tomori attributes this transformation to Milan’s improved defensive stability. "One of the main objectives for us was to concede less goals and I think this season we’ve been a lot more solid defensively, not just the defenders, but the whole team as a unit," he explained.

He concluded by crediting the collective effort: "We’ve worked a lot and worked a lot on trying to stay compact as a team. To play two games against Inter and not concede a goal, it’s not easy. I think that’s testament to how well we’ve been working and the work that the coaching staff has been doing with us this season.”