Tomori: ‘Milan must find new ways to win’
Fikayo Tomori warns the Scudetto success means opponents have changed their approach for Milan, who need to “find other ways to win”, and he is still angry after that World Cup snub in England.
The Rossoneri returned to training last week and played their first friendly yesterday during the 2022 World Cup break, losing 2-1 to Arsenal in the Dubai Super Cup.
They are second in the Serie A table behind Napoli and hopefully 2023 can see them close that gap to defend their title.
“In my opinion, the hardest thing for us will be to win again,” Tomori told Sky Sport Italia and DAZN.
“We knew very well last season that not many people thought we were winning, but now we have won and the Scudetto symbol is on our chests.
“It means that when we play, our opponents tend to change tactics and try not to lose, so we in turn have to find other ways to win. We like the feeling of winning and it’s more difficult this time, but we can keep getting stronger.
Tomori turns 25 next week and will develop his game at Milan, even scoring a crucial but to beat Juventus 2-0 in October.
“It’s something I want to improve. I know my job is to defend, but I would also like to score more goals. I really admire a lot of defenders in Serie A, like Kim Min-jae at Napoli, Milan Skriniar, Leonard Bonucci and Bremer. Seeing them makes me want to improve.
England pulled out of the Qatar World Cup in the quarter-finals and might have been able to settle for a player like Tomori, but he was snubbed by coach Gareth Southgate, with Roma pairing Tammy Abraham and Chris Small.
“Obviously I’m disappointed, because I wanted to be there in Qatar. I know I have to give more to earn my Euro 2024 call-up, so I have to keep working and see what happens.
“Right now I’m happy with the way I’m playing for Milan.”
A Chelsea youth academy product, Tomori was born in Canada and played for them at Under-20 level before moving to England, where he amassed 15 Under-21 caps and three senior appearances.