Tassotti launches passionate derby plea: 'They owe it to the fans, the club and the crest'

Mauro Tassotti has pleaded with the AC Milan squad to put everything into the derby on Monday night in order to postpone Inter’s title celebrations.

The results over the last weekend of Serie A action left the equation very simple: Inter will secure their historic 20th Scudetto in the upcoming clash with their city rivals if they beat them in Monday night’s game.

That will in turn earn them the chance to wear a second star on their shirts before the Rossoneri, who would remain stuck on 19 after their last Serie A triumph during the 2021-22 season.

After Milan’s elimination in the ‘Euroderby’ against Roma on Thursday night it would be yet another hammer blow in what has so far been a generally quite miserable season, one that is likely to cost Stefano Pioli his job.

Tassotti gave an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) in which he reflected on the season so far for Milan and the idea that Inter can win the league against them.

“Even if it would be something that causes pain and agony, for me the objective of this derby must not be to postpone Inter’s title win, but to prove ourselves to be on par with them,” he said.

“Milan must play a proud match because they have lost the last five derbies and this is something that weighs on me. The sequence of defeats bothers me.

“In any case, it is not with this match that Milan can save the season, not even if they win 5-0. Milan must win regardless because Inter are ahead of them.

“This concept of winning the derby to save the season never happened, not even when we were a lesser Milan side in the early 1980s. It’s something we never thought about, not even then, never perceived.

“How can this Inter be stopped? We should try to attack them, dribble and attack. Try to play the game, because if you leave it in their hands it becomes tough.

“The Rossoneri have to put everything they have on the pitch. They owe it to the fans, to the club and to the crest they wear on their chest.”