Olivier Giroud insisted Milan are proud to be champions of Italy after scoring a brace in their 2-1 win over Koln to start their pre-season.
Giroud effectively wrapped up the match with a first-half double as the Rossoneri's commenced preparation for their Serie A title defence, after the club claimed their first league title since 2011 last season.
Notably after receiving Ante Rebic's delightful backheel in transition to then chip Marvin Schwabe and finish with an open goal in the 16th minute, Giroud tapped the famed Scudetto on his shirt, awarded to the reigning league champions of Italy.
While expressing his positive feelings towards Milan's preparations, the 35-year-old admitted his celebration was a specific one post-match, intended a message to the club's fans.
"I think the Scudetto looks beautiful on this red-and-black shirt," Giroud said afterwards. "I wanted to send a small message to our fans that we are really proud to be the champions of Italy.
"It's always good to start with a goal. We did very well in the first half and the guys finished off the work well. I'm very happy as it's always a good thing to win the first game, although it's just a friendly.
"We're doing a really good job at Milanello, we're working very hard and there are some heavy sessions, and this heat makes it difficult but we did well today with good team spirit, playing with solidarity. We're almost ready, not 100 per cent, but I feel fine and the guys too."
Despite Franck Kessie's departure for Barcelona and reportedly losing out on Renato Sanches, Milan have arguably bolstered an already strong midfield in the off-season, with returns from loan for Yacine Adli and Tommaso Pobega.
While Pobega looked strong with a starting appearance, Adli impressed after coming on for the second half, with Giroud believing he will be a positive addition for the reigning champions.
"I think it's important to do the right things to give him a warm welcome," the veteran striker said. "He's a good guy, and knows he has a lot to learn here, but I was impressed by his quality, his assists, his pace and his vision.
"He's a good addition to the team. He needs to calm himself, but he's a good guy and I'm happy for him that he can be here at a great Milan."
Edwards urges Luton Town to ignore scrutiny on relegation battle
Rob Edwards is keen for Luton Town to ignore the scrutiny surrounding them in the relegation battle as they prepare for another big game against Wolves.
The Hatters sit one point from safety in the relegation zone after back-to-back 5-1 defeats against Manchester City and Brentford.
While Nottingham Forest also lost last weekend, being beaten 2-0 by Everton, Burnley beat Sheffield United to move them two points behind Luton.
Asked how he is handling the pressure of the relegation battle with only four games left, Edwards said: “The stakes are high already, we all know what it means and it's really important to everyone that's in this at the moment, a number of clubs that are still fighting to try and avoid it and be in the league next season, it's so important.
“Everyone wants to try and stoke the fire I think. We've got a title race on at one end and obviously, there's a relegation battle we're involved in. It's exciting, it's good that we're in the fight, and we've got a chance to get out of it, but really, all I am concerned about right now is our performance tomorrow.”
Glasner challenges Crystal Palace to extend winning run
Oliver Glasner is hopeful that Crystal Palace can maintain their recent winning run when they travel to Fulham on Saturday.
After a run of five games without a victory, the Eagles have won each of their last three games, beating Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle United.
Their 2-0 win over the Magpies on Wednesday also secured their Premier League safety for another season.
Glasner has given credit to his team’s attitude in turning around their recent run of form but does not want them to slow down despite reaching their goal.
He said: “The players give us confidence because they are listening. Every day we were sitting here and having a meeting and showing them videos and nobody was sleeping, so that gives us good feedback!
"Now we have 39 points and I think it shouldn't be our target to say ‘39 points, oh well done, staying in the Premier League’ because then I would say 'come on guys, go wherever you want and take vacations' – but no.
"We want to improve, we want to win games, and we have the next chance tomorrow at Fulham."
Columbus Crew v CF Montreal: Nancy proud of resilient Champions Cup performance
Wilfried Nancy was delighted with the spirit and grit his Columbus Crew team displayed as they sealed a 2-1 CONCACAF Champions Cup win over CF Monterrey.
The Crew are in a great position to progress to the Champions Cup final after their first-leg win in midweek.
Now, Nancy will turn his focus to a league clash with his former club CF Montreal, but he stressed his pride with his team for their performance against Monterrey.
“I'm really proud of the guys,” said Nancy.
“Because we did a really good game in terms of when we had the difficult moments, we were together. And when we had the ball, we tried to play our game and we had good opportunities also, and we were able to unbalance them.
“We try to convince [the squad] that when we play high-level sport, it's a game of mistakes.
The idea is no matter what happened, can we find a way to bounce back? So we work on that during the practice, but at the end of the day, you have to live this situation. And I think that we've worked upon in the past. So now they’ve been better and the chemistry is better. And they were able to sort it out.”
The Crew are the reigning MLS Cup champions, though they have drawn their last three league fixtures.
While Columbus sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, Montreal are three points back in 10th place.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Hernandez scored his 34th MLS goal (including playoffs) in the Crew’s draw on Saturday. Only the Philadelphia Union’s Daniel Gazdag (36) has more goals than Hernández since he made his MLS debut in July 2022.
CF Montreal – Ariel Lassiter
Lassiter put CF Montreal ahead against Orlando on Saturday with an 88th-minute goal, only to see the Lions equalize in stoppage time. It marked just the second time in club history that Montreal scored a go-ahead goal after the 75th minute but failed to win the match, also doing so against the Fire in 2017.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS WIN
Montreal have lost 17 of their 25 away matches in all competitions (W5 D3) dating back to the start of last season, being outscored, 56-21, in those games.
Columbus are unbeaten in 17 straight regular-season home matches (W12 D5) following a pair of draws with D.C. United and the Portland Timbers. The only longer run in club history was a 22-match streak in 2008—09.
Columbus won both of their matches against Montreal last season after winning just two of the previous eight (D2 L4). Montreal (2-1 in August 2022) are one of two visiting teams to record a win at Lower.com Field since June 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 56.4%
CF Montreal – 18.6%
Draw – 25%
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