It is crunch time for AC Milan when they host FC Porto on Wednesday (on Paramount+) with the Italian giants knowing that their first foray into the UEFA Champions League since 2014 could come to an end if they do not take all three points at San Siro.
The Rossoneri are on a run of five consecutive UCL defeats dating back seven years and defender Simon Kjaer is determined that he and his teammates turn things around knowing how important top continental competition is to the club.
“It is very important,” the Denmark international told CBS Sports exclusively. “Milan is a Champions League club with the history and titles won here. It is very important for the club’s identity and for players to come to play in the UCL. We need to do as we are now and be in competition for the Champions League every year.
“It is not that easy to go and just win games, as we see this year after seven years away from the UCL. It is a very tough competition, and it really depends on small details. Those details have not been in our favor so far and we need to learn from that. we will keep pushing and do our job to be back next year. That does not mean that we have no ambitions this year, though.”
Milan are back for the first time since 2014 when they were mauled 5-1 over two legs by eventual beaten finalists Atletico Madrid and although the results suggest otherwise –notably a 3-2 loss to Liverpool at Anfield and a 2-1 loss at home to Atleti in September — Kjaer does not believe that this season necessarily has to be a period of re-adaptation to the Champions League.
“People will probably say yes, now as we have lost games and have no points,” he said. “However, in football, if you do not get a red card in the game at home (Atletico), I am sure that we would have won that game. We were at a high level and the circumstances were so small. We should have even been two or three up by then as we created chances.
“Liverpool and Porto away we need to learn from. We have two home games now and one away in Madrid. We need to get points if we want to have any business being in the Champions League and you get nothing handed to you. We have a possibility against Porto on Wednesday. We need to win, or the Champions League is gone.”
Kjaer extended his contract with Milan until 2024 last week and the 32-year-old admitted that he and the club intend to win titles soon as they currently push SSC Napoli for top spot in Serie A with a seven-point lead over bitter rivals Inter in third ahead of Derby della Madonnina this weekend.
“I think we set them when I signed the new contract,” Kjaer told CBS Sports. “We do not want it to be long before we win something. That is our objective. For me personally, I know it is the same for the club too, I need to win this year and next year. We will push as hard as we can to do that and to get Milan back to where this club belongs — on top.”
One of the contributing factors toward Milan’s recent reinvigoration is the change in style of play in Serie A which Kjaer believes has been noticeable since he returned to the Italian top-flight in 2019 with Atalanta and then Milan after spells with AS Roma and Palermo in the past.
“The style has changed a lot,” he said. “It is very, very different to when I first arrived with Palermo. Then, games were static and you were either in an attacking or defensive phase. It was accepted and you just went back to stand on your lines. The games now are much more dynamic, and the quality of the teams now is super high — there are so many good and competitive teams.
“If you say that Italian football is tactical now, it is because you have not seen an Italian game for quite some time. It is very dynamic, and it has gotten a lot better.”
Kjaer’s performances over the past 12 months or so are arguably the most impressive and consistent in his career to date and the man from Horsens is proud of his recent Ballon d’Or nomination which reflected a stellar year both with Milan and Denmark.
“It is, of course, one of the biggest compliments of my career,” Kjaer said. “I am very honored and very proud. My nomination reflects that I have had a very good year with Milan and with the national team. It shows that I have worked hard, and I am grateful and honored. I will keep pushing and I think that it is amazing at 32. Like I said, though, I still have many years left in me.”
It was a rollercoaster summer for Kjaer and his Danish teammates with the team recovering from the shock of Christian Eriksen’s on-pitch collapse to make a deep run at Euro 2020 to the semifinals before losing out to hosts and beaten finalists England.
Kjaer and Eriksen both live in Milan with the latter still an Inter player and the former is pleased to see his friend “in a good place” after such a scare: “I see Christian occasionally, and we talk. He is in a good place. I will leave it at that.”
Sticking with the Dynamite Danes, Kjaer singled out two Serie A-based talents as two of the most impressive members of Kasper Hjulmand’s group with Mikkel Damsgaard and Joakim Maehle his two picks after their Euro exploits.
“I did not expect things to go so fast with Damsgaard given the circumstances,” said the former Lille OSC, VfL Wolfsburg, Sevilla and Fenerbahce man. “He went in directly and took great responsibility on the ball and in our style of play. Maehle came in across the left side offensively and defensively. I did not expect that either.
“It still impresses me how far we have come and how we keep moving the boundaries for what is possible. I believe that we have a great, great future ahead of us. I am excited to be a part of it as captain and as a player for my country. The future looks very bright with all the players and quality that we have.”
Kjaer also believes that this Denmark team can go on to win something internationally in the coming years and points to their sensational 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification record as proof that the Scandinavians could be on the cusp of something very special.
“With Denmark, it is the same as Milan,” he said. “If you want to win something, you must have the dream of winning something. It is a question of small details, especially with injuries as a lot can change. However, to qualify for the World Cup with 26 goals scored to zero. That means our coach is already planning for these two November games to keep improving.
“At the World Cup, we will try to do our best and the objective and the dream is to win. If you do not aim high and do not dream, then you will get nowhere. That is the same for Denmark or AC Milan. If you put in the work, then many times you get back what you put in. Nothing comes for free.”
You can follow Kjaer and his Milan teammates for their crunch matches with both Porto and Inter this week with the Champions League and Serie A broadcast on Paramount+.
