Milan coach to his players: Do not put the cart in front of the horse

Milan coach Stefano Pioli called on his team to focus on match after match and play smart when they face relegation-threatened Cagliari today, as his team continues their quest for the Serie A title for the first time since 2011.

Milan leads the competition with 63 points from 29 games, three points ahead of Napoli, the second-placed player, and four points over Inter Milan, the third-placed champion, who played 28 games.

He said in a press conference yesterday: We should not put the cart before the horse.

We are almost only one point ahead of Inter and Atlanta may lose a few points.

He continued, "There are still many obstacles. We have a lot of matches ahead. If we think too far we will lose focus on the current matches and this should not happen. For the top four teams (in the standings) all matches are open and a crossroads."

While Cagliari hovers above the relegation zone in 17th place with 25 points, Pioli confirmed that they will face a tough opponent as Milan looks to extend its unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches.

"We know the difficulties," he said. "Cagliari stopped Napoli. (We) need a strong performance and quality because Cagliari play attacking football. We will have to play our way. We have to be focused and alert throughout the match. We are in good physical and mental condition. It is the most important thing."

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