Gianluigi Donnarumma: "We need to give our best"
The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper spoke to the press ahead of the UEFA Champions League group-stage encounter with the club that developed him, AC Milan, at 21:00 CET tomorrow at the Parc des Princes.
on the game against AC Milan
"This will be a very difficult game; their strength is their ability to be very compact. I know their coach really well. We've done a lot of preparation for this game, and we feel ready to face the huge challenge that will be trying to win it. There aren't any favourites in this group; it's very balanced. We're staying focused on ourselves and on trying to win each game, and we'll assess it all at the end.
"This double header against Milan will be very important, as we're going to be playing against a great team. We need to give our best to try to win, but we're going to focus on tomorrow's game before we think about the return fixture. We'll give it our all."
ON his reunion with the italian side and facing mike Maignan
"This will be a very special game for me. Facing AC Milan means a lot to me, but I need to stay in control of my emotions and focus on the game. I feel really comfortable here; we're like one big family at Paris Saint-Germain, and that was also the case at Milan. I'll always keep them in my heart, but I'm doing really well here. I have a lot of friends, and I've learnt French. The fans have made me feel welcome, and I feel really comfortable. I'm trying to give my all for the club.
"As for Mike Maignan, I think that he's a fantastic goalkeeper. There's an enormous amount of respect between us. I'd like to wish him the best of luck for this game and for the future, particularly with the France team."
ON HIS PROGRESSION AT Paris
"I try to improve every day. I've always said that I have a lot of room for improvement, so every day, I try to listen to my coach and learn. My aim is to grow and to blossom every day. I'm really happy with my development here, and I have a lot more experience now than I did a few years ago. I'm still a young player, but the experience that I've gained helps me to prepare for games and to experience them in a different way."
ON THE TEAM'S STYLE OF PLAY
"We started a new challenge with a new coach this year, and I think that we're playing some great football. We knew about the coach's profile, and we're really happy to have Luis Enrique and his staff with us. We have a lot of room for improvement, but week in, week out, we keep improving. On a personal level, Luis is really happy with how my footwork is improving, and I'm happy with how I'm doing and with how we're trying to build out from the back."