Milan Is More Than Just Balotelli - Cocu

PSV coach Phillip Cocu has insisted that his side need to do more than just stop Mario Balotelli when they host AC Milan for a spot in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

The Dutchman is wary of the Rossoneri's squad and shared his faith in his new recruits ahead of the Champions League play-off first leg

The Italy striker has shone at San Siro since his transfer from Manchester City in January, though the Dutch giants' boss is adamant that the Rossoneri have other players who can hurt them in the first leg of the play-off.

"We're not just going to try to stop Balotelli," he told reporters. "We have to beat AC Milan over two matches – that's our goal, our task and our challenge.

"We're playing against an absolutely great team with a lot of individual qualities and qualities as a group. What I've seen from them was a very high level and we shouldn't think too easy about that now."

The Dutch giants had several high-profile players move on in the off-season, including Dries Mertens, Kevin Strootman and Erik Pieters, but Cocu is confident that the replacements - such as €8 million signing Adam Maher - can fill the void.

"At PSV we're used to the fact that players leave our club and more players left than usual this year," he continued. "You need to cope with that as soon as possible and it's difficult to form a team again.

"But I'm really satisfied about the progression and the players [signed] in those positions will prove to be good replacements."

The Eredivisie side travel to San Siro for the return leg on August 28, with kick-off in both clashes at 20:45CET.

Source: Legit.ng