Sandro Tonali hailed AC Milan's mentality for their 2-1 win against Sampdoria.

Milan managed victory despite seeing Rafael Leao sent off.

“It is the most important, not perhaps as a match after the derby, but in terms of heart and determination," Tonali told Sky Italia.

“We started strong, scored a goal, had another disallowed, but we proved we're a great team. We want to keep improving, because we didn't do everything right today, it was tough after the red card, but we remained a team. We still have that desire to win and it was clear this evening.

“Not just me, the whole team today dug deep into the reserves and put everything we had left onto the pitch. We had to get the last drops of energy to earn this victory.

“I feel Milan within me, I felt the tension a little today, but our fans are always there to give us that extra push."