Hellas Verona coach Ivan Juric said Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic ‘surprised everyone’ and praised Stefano Pioli’s style of play.

Verona haven’t lost in four games, including a win in the Coppa Italia on penalties against Venezia, and come from a 3-1 win against Benevento in the last round.

“If we talk about the last one, there have been positive moments and very negative moments as a performance,” Juric said at a press conference.

Hellas Verona coach Ivan Juric said Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic ‘surprised everyone’ and praised Stefano Pioli’s style of play.

Verona haven’t lost in four games, including a win in the Coppa Italia on penalties against Venezia, and come from a 3-1 win against Benevento in the last round.

“If we talk about the last one, there have been positive moments and very negative moments as a performance,” Juric said at a press conference.

“I think it’s normal, even if I don’t like it. Many new players are playing, players who are not used to playing three or four games in a row. There were two goals and other moments when it didn’t go well.”

The Gialloblu coach trains his squad ‘carefully’ to avoid further setbacks in regards of injuries, as he aims to continue to play ‘intense football’.

“We skipped a bit of everything as a working method. You must be very careful, you train players who have very different physical conditions,” he added.

“It’s not easy. Now we are investigating further to try to avoid other problems, and we hope to get out of them.

“It’s a new situation for us too. Our football consists of intensity, it’s modern. To get to last year’s levels, you must be strong in training. When you get used to it, you become strong, that’s my concept.

“Right now, we don’t do it. We do it a little, then we slow down. We have to be very intelligent as staff.”

After back-to-back draws against Genoa and Juventus in Serie A, the Gialloblu bounced back with a win against Benevento last time.

“We scored quality goals,” Juric said. “We were poor for half an hour, quite the opposite in terms of possession and aggression, but I can understand that for many reasons.

“Then we had a huge reaction, in the way the team freed themselves. They did well. In the end we didn’t steal anything, we deservedly won, despite giving them many opportunities.

“It’s part of our growth, which I hope will be rapid.”

Two young teams clash tomorrow, but veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been writing headlines in recent months.

Juric admitted he would ‘love to have’ the Swede in his squad and praised Stefano Pioli’s style of play at Milan.

“Ibra surprised everyone, I was surprised by his play,” Juric said. “I didn’t expect him to be so fresh.

“Milan have raised the quality compared to before, they play very modern football, they run a lot. They seem like a healthy team.

“For me, Milan play great football. If you let them play, they will. If you close them down, they will find Ibra with the long ball.

“They have a thousand solutions. He does the right thing, like [Nikola] Kalinic when he defends, he does the right thing.

“Ibra still makes the difference, in his movements, the technique and the spirit. He’s still a top player, of course I would love to have him here.”

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