El Shaarawy turns attention back to Serie A

AC Milan star Stephan El Shaarawy has urged his side to turn their focus to Serie A again after their Champions League elimination.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men sit third in the table, trailing second-placed Napoli by only two points, and El Shaarawy has not given up hopes of automatic Champions League qualification just yet.

“We have to put Barcelona behind us and focus on second place in Serie A. We have 10 games left to make sure we play in next season’s Champions League,” El Shaarawy told Milan Channel.

“What we’re doing at the moment seemed unthinkable at the start of the season. Our comeback has been strong and these last 10 matches will have to be like 10 cup finals.

“Now we need the whole team to work hard to get that second place. We did well in the first leg against Barcelona and in the second leg they showed that they’re the best team in the world and now we have to get back to the league.

“There are no big injuries ahead of Sunday except for (Giampaolo) Pazzini and we hope to win against Palermo.”