Allegri allays Pato fears

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri said Alexandre Pato should not fear for his spot despite the addition of Antonio Cassano to the squad.

Allegri assured Pato that he would not be shuffled out of the side in preference to Cassano, with both players offering different qualities as final-third danger men.

“Pato should remain calm because he is an extraordinary player with great qualities. Cassano has completely different qualities. Pato is a real striker while Cassano passes the ball,” Allegri said.

“The fact Pato’s best quality is scoring goals is shown by the numbers because he played 100 matches and scored 50 goals. We cannot question Pato’s quality only because he played a bad game in Lecce (in Milan’s 1-1 draw last Sunday), no problem at all.”

Allegri praised Sunday’s Serie A opponent Cesena, who tested Milan’s city rivals Inter before going down 3-2 at the San Siro on Wednesday.

“I believe Cesena had a good game against Inter Milan on Wednesday. It’s a team with a good defence (and) they play well up front too,” the manager said.

“They’re good in recovering the ball, so we should be very careful. We can’t underestimate them and we need to play with great intensity like we did on Wednesday against Bari.”

“It is important we get back to winning ways in the championship, that’s why we have to play the game the best we can.”

Milan will take on Cesena at the San Siro.