Gennaro Gattuso Proud of Milan's Progress to Coppa Italia Final After 'Suffering' Against Lazio

AC Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso has admitted that although his side progressed into the final of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday night, it wasn't without suffering against a tough Lazio outfit.

The two legs weren't exactly ties for the neutral. After 210 minutes of goalless football, the eventual winner was decided through a penalty shootout - with Alessandro Romagnoli netting the winning spot kick in the 5-4 face-off.

However, Gattuso seems to realise that either side could've gone on to face Juventus in the final of the cup, admitting that it was a difficult night:

“Lazio are a side who put four or five goals past everyone at home, and are one of the top scorers in Europe. They combine physicality with great technique,” he told Rai Sport (via Sempre Milan).

“We did well today, ensuring they never found the through channels. We could’ve scored, we could’ve conceded and it was a night of suffering.

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"I thought that I had to work on the minds of the players. A mistake can happen, every player knows that. Nikola (Kalinic) has a problem with his thigh muscle and grit his teeth to play. He’s a great guy, a great player and a champion.”

Gattuso came into the Milan fold as manager back in November after a poor start to the campaign, and has offered insight as to how he's turned a failing side into a squad one win away from a trophy.

He added: “We are working on concepts, attacking the space, playing in more reduced spaces and getting to the opposition goal with as few passes as possible. People don’t notice, but we don’t concede because we all work to cover the spaces and the whole team does that.

“I know that I drive them crazy sometimes in training, but it’s paying off and will all be worth it in the end. This is a very young side and we must get back to being the team that the fans dream of."