Conceicao: ‘Concentration’ helped Milan to 2-0 Venezia victory | OneFootball

Sergio Conceicao is pleased with the levels of concentration he saw from his Milan side to claim a 2-0 win away against Venezia in Serie A on Sunday, and also spoke about the team’s remaining goals for 2024-25 and his personal future after the full-time whistle.

Goals from Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez gave the Rossoneri a 2-0 win at the Pier Luigi Penzo in one of Sunday’s early Serie A kick-offs.

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

VENICE, ITALY – APRIL 27: Christian Pulisic of Milan celebrates scoring a goal with teammate Youssouf Fofana during the Serie A match between Venezia and AC Milan at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on April 27, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

Conceicao: ‘Competitive focus is key’ for Milan in Serie A run-in

“After the derby, it wasn’t easy to have the level of concentration that we’ve lacked in recent months. Competitive focus is key,” Conceicao explained to DAZN after full-time of Milan’s 2-0 win over Venezia.

“It’s not easy to come here, they’re a team that presses a lot and has a lot of qualities. They play directly and have fast players up front. Even with the post-derby atmosphere, we still had the desire to get the three points.

Sergio Conceicao, Head Coach of AC Milan, acknowledges the fans after the coppa Italia Semi Final match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“It’s special playing here, with the boats, it’s only the palm trees that are missing. It was essential to win today to give us solidity after the victory in the cup semi-final. That was really important to us.”

Despite their win on Sunday, Milan still sit in ninth place in the Serie A table. They are likely to miss out on Champions League qualification, but still have the possibility of qualifying for the Europa League via the Coppa Italia.

Putting a positive spin on things, Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana pointed out that the Rossoneri are the only team in Italy capable of winning two domestic titles this season.

Conceicao did not see the picture in the same way as Fofana though, explaining: “We are at Milan and there is nothing more important than the top four places. The objectives are clear here.

“It’s important to paint a different image to the one that has been painted in recent months. We’re finding the balance we’ve always spoken about, which is important on a technical level.”

Conceicao also spoke about the form of Januaury signing Gimenez, who scored his first goal since February off the bench in Venezia: “He’s aware that he’s not been at his best. He told me immediately after the game that the match hadn’t gone well, but the goal was important. That’s important, to put things into a positive and not a negative.

“We have faith in him, and everybody else.”

Santiago Gimenez  celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between AC Milan and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 18, 2025 in San Siro, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

And, responding to questions about his own future, the Milan coach added: “Conceicao is not what’s important right now, Milan is. I work a lot of hours every day along with my staff. We are working hard.

He joked: “In a month or so, I will say what I want. It may be that I have other ideas, like going on holiday in the Algarve in Portugal, for 10 years … I don’t know.”