After securing his third consecutive league win with a 3-0 win over Lecce, Paulo Fonseca was understandably happy when speaking to the media afterwards. He admitted it wasn’t easy after the big game last weekend, but his players responded well.

It was important for Milan to build on the derby win and while their performance throughout the 90 minutes wasn’t outstanding, they showed how productive they can be. Some of the stars appeared and then the Rossoneri switched on cruise control.

Speaking to Sky Italia after the game, as quoted by MilanNews, Fonseca shared his thoughts on the performance. He also praised some players before previewing the upcoming Champions League match.

To the game…

“After the first two games I didn’t expect this moment, but that’s why football is so beautiful. Things change positively or negatively in 90 minutes. We are here, it was important to win after the derby, today it was very important to continue winning because getting back to reality after the derby was the hardest thing, but the players understood that and we won well.”

On Fofana…

“He is an important player. I think the whole team has developed in the last few games, not just Fofana, who is doing well and gaining confidence. I feel like he’s growing and becoming more and more important to our team.”

About Leverkusen…

“It will be a completely different game. We were unlucky because we start with two teams that are very good in Europe. We played against Liverpool, who have almost perfect positional play, and now against Leverkusen, who are the same, maybe even better. We know it will be a very difficult game. I didn’t see much of Leverkusen as I was concentrating on that game. Now I’m going home and starting to prepare for the game against Leverkusen.”

Morata and Abraham together: For tactical reasons or because of their generosity on the pitch?

“Both things, firstly because Morata’s characteristics allow me to use him in this role between the lines. This wouldn’t be possible without a striker with Abraham’s characteristics. And then it’s this energy that I like the most, that of Alvaro and Abraham, which is infectious. Today we saw a Rafa who worked harder because he followed these examples.”

Milan will next face Bayer Leverkusen, on Tuesday to be precise, and Fonseca will be able to field a fairly fresh team. In fact, tonight’s game didn’t exactly drain the energy and that was perfect for the Rossoneri.