Pioli believes Tottenham tie arrives at ideal time for ´cleansed´ Milan

Milan coach Stefano Pioli believes Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Tottenham arrives at the ideal time for his team, saying Friday’s win over Torino helped to “cleanse our spirit”.

Scudetto holders Milan halted a five-game winless run in Serie A with the 1-0 victory, as Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of a tight contest at San Siro.

The result lifted the Rossoneri from sixth to third in the Italian top flight ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, but they must swiftly turn their attention to Europe in the coming days.

Milan will play their first match in the Champions League knockout stages since 2014 when they welcome Antonio Conte’s Spurs to Italy for the first leg of their last-16 tussle.

Asked whether that game comes at a good time for Milan after their confidence-boosting victory, Pioli said: “Yes. The Champions League is what we wanted and deserved.

“From the round of 16 onwards, anyone would have been a very difficult and competitive opponent, especially the English teams.

“We’ll be there, it will be a difficult match. I know Tottenham well because I know Conte and they deservedly won against [Manchester] City [last week].

“It comes at the right time, this victory will cleanse our heads and our spirit a little. We will be ready to play a match to the best of our ability.

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“I can only congratulate our fans, it was a difficult period for them. The fact that they continue to support us can only help us.

“On Tuesday there will be an audience with great opportunities, and we want to live up to the fans and the Champions League.”

The last meeting between Milan and Spurs came at the same stage of the competition in the 2010-11 campaign, when the London club triumphed 1-0 on aggregate via a Peter Crouch goal.

Meanwhile, Tottenham’s former Juventus and Inter boss Conte has won eight of his last nine games against Milan (L1), and Pioli knows the Rossoneri will have to step things up.

“We have to do much better, raise the level of the game,” he said. “Tottenham are a very strong team, but there is satisfaction. The team worked a lot during the match and that’s the most important thing.”