Montella relishing Juve clash after Chievo rout

Vincenzo Montella is looking ahead to this weekend’s blockbuster showdown against Italian champions Juventus with excitement after AC Milan’s pressure-relieving victory on Wednesday.

Milan eased the pressure on under-fire head coach Montella by routing Chievo 4-1 in Serie A action midweek.

Suso, Hakan Calhanoglu and Nikola Kalinic were on target as Milan returned to winning ways in the league, having managed just one victory in six games in all competitions.

Montella, whose Milan are eighth and nine points behind Massimiliano Allegri’s men, is now preparing for Saturday’s visit of Juve with renewed belief.

“It’s a victory that gives us belief and strength. We had already seen significant improvements in the quality of football over recent games and I am very satisfied with this performance,” Montella told Mediaset Premium.

After a @suso30oficial show, goals from @hakanc10 and #NK7 seal the 1-4 win. Read the #ChievoMilan report in full https://t.co/HCEfuntMGY pic.twitter.com/5vXcMzebFW

— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 25, 2017

“I am already looking forward to Saturday’s game with Juventus and we don’t have much time to celebrate, even if we do want to enjoy the moment.

“We had a psychological block, all sorts of things happened and the team had to shake some things off. In the second half, the lads were more enterprising and I hope from now on these players will be able to express their immense talent with more freedom.

“I want to see the spark we’re looking for and hope that Juve underestimate us a bit on Saturday.”

Grande partita. Vittoria importante. Grandi ragazzi!!! //
A great game, an important win. Well done guys!!! … https://t.co/4UR12cSTiw pic.twitter.com/QQ9DEdTqC0

— Leonardo Bonucci (@bonucci_leo19) October 25, 2017

Milan’s drought-ending victory came in the absence of captain Leonardo Bonucci, who was sent off in the 0-0 draw at home to Genoa last week.

Asked if Milan benefited with the under-performing Bonucci sidelined, Montella replied: “You can criticise Bonucci for some performances, but can’t put his quality in doubt, otherwise we may as well go and do a different profession.”