AC Milan coach Leonardo was a proud man after their amazing 3-2 victory at Real Madrid last night. Nelson Dida's howler gave Raul the opener, but the Rossoneri fought back with Andrea Pirlo and a Pato brace.
"What can I say? The game spoke for itself. We approached it the best way, even with a very difficult start and conceding that goal, but the team always believed and our second half was extraordinary," said Leonardo.
"At the end of the day a line-up has to be done in a balanced fashion and what this side has is the maturity to understand many different approaches.
"It's not just because this was the Champions League and the Bernabeu, but facing an attacking side I felt the best thing we could do was push them really hard.
"Even after going a goal down we never thought we'd lose this game. We faced a good team, but one that suited us perfectly as opponents."
On Dida, Leonardo shrugged: "Mistakes happened to Madrid too, but Dida is an experienced player who knows how to deal with these situations.
"It's easy to talk now, but in my initial plans for the season it was 4-3-3. However, there are games and games, moments and moments. I cannot deny this victory was born from the second half against Roma, where we were forced to push forward and fight back, understanding this system.
"It is impossible to play this way without the midfield doing the right work and the strikers moving the right way. Real play in a similar fashion and so this turned out to be a direct confrontation."