Following AC Milan’s unexpected 3-1 victory over Champions League holders Real Madrid on Tuesday, manager Paulo Fonseca expressed his pride in his team’s performance.

When the continental powerhouses faced off at the Santiago Bernabeu, Milan defeated Real Madrid for the first time in fifteen years, giving the winners of the previous season their first back-to-back losses since October 2021.

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“We won because the players had the courage to come here and not be afraid of anything, playing the game we wanted,” Fonseca told a press conference on Tuesday.

“We prepared for a match in which we wanted to keep the ball, in the first half we did important things and in the second half we suffered more, but we deserved to win, no doubt about it.”

Fonseca expressed his happiness at what he saw as a statement win and claimed that he was able to implement a more aggressive strategy than he would have in Italy, where he claimed that opponents play more defensively.

“Today we showed that an Italian team came to the Bernabéu to play and not to defend alone. And we can still grow a lot,” Fonseca said.

“I have to be honest. This type of game is totally different to what we have in Serie A.

“I don’t think it’s possible to do what we did today there because here there are no teams that press man-to-man all over the pitch.”

“You have to be careful with comparisons. In Italy, perhaps, we don’t have the chance to play with this aggressiveness.

“We’re going to try, but it’s not the same as playing against Monza or Cagliari, who are locked down and always put you under pressure man-to-man.”

After four games, Milan is one spot behind Real Madrid on goal differential and in 17th place out of 36 teams in the Champions League standings with six points.