AC Milan chief exec Ivan Gazidis is full of praise for coach Stefano Pioli.

Gazidis admits Pioli's work has been key to the club's revival over the past 12 months.

He told Sette: "I give a lot of credit to the leadership of Pioli, a curious man, who follows how football evolves, but also to the hunger of the players. Football is also a mental game. I read a very interesting book, 'The captain class', about the tug-of-war: there are studies, when one person pulls against another he develops a certain strength, when there are eight people on one side and eight on the other we discover that the individual takes less. Because in a corner of the brain he thinks that someone else will take on his responsibility.

"There are players whose influence goes beyond the performance on the field, it develops in the 5% who give more to all the others.

"That's Ibra. But Kjaer is also a leader and, with different styles, Kessie and Bennacer."