FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Semi Final - Juventus v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 3, 2025 AC Milan senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic before the match REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo
(Reuters) - AC Milan go into their Champions League playoff second leg with Feyenoord one goal down, and need to approach the return tie with the Dutch side the same as they would a final, the club's senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Monday.
With Milan manager Sergio Conceicao making his return from Portugal after attending the funeral of former Porto president Pinto da Costa, Ibrahimovic took his place at the press conference ahead of Tuesday's game at the San Siro.
Milan lost the first leg of the knockout phase playoff 1-0 away from home, but will hope to turn things around at their own stadium.
"They have to go into this with a final mentality, focused, aggressive and concrete," Ibrahimovic told reporters.
"It's important to play well, but it's more important to win. We are down by a goal, we have to get a result to go through. Everyone has to push their teammate and make him be focused.
"It's a collective thing that starts with some individuality. Even those on the bench have to push, it's all connected to the collective. This is what makes a group and a team."
Ibrahimovic also believes the Milan supporters can play a vital role in pushing the team to get the required result.
"For tomorrow, our fans are important, their fans pushed hard in Rotterdam," Ibrahimovic said.
"But I am confident that tomorrow with 80 thousand AC Milan fans in the stadium and those around the world they will give maximum support to the team, which will then have to take this energy to do the best possible."
Milan defender Fikayo Tomori is well aware how important it will be to stop Feyenoord scoring again in the second leg, but his side's reaction if they do concede will be just as crucial.
"We as a team and as defenders take the field every game with the aim of not conceding goals and tomorrow we are already down by one," Tomori said.
"We know the quality we have, but if we concede a goal we must not lose concentration and keep belief in what we are doing. In the end we know that we have to and we want to win, we have to be focused to get what we want."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
