Milan (1-1) coach Ettore Messina called upon all his defensive expertise to secure his 300th career victory in the competition on Tuesday, holding Olympiacos to just 53 points, and will now attempt to devise another game plan to shut down unbeaten Real (3-0). That will involve clamping down on key creator Facundo Campazzo, who ranks second in the league in assists with 8.0 per game. But the reigning champs also possess an awesome collection of big men, especially now that Gabriel Deck has returned from injury. Milan will likely need to former Real power forward Nikola Mirotic to maintain his magnificent start after scoring 27 and 20 points in the first two games.
Pre-game quotes: Real Madrid vs. Milan
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Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"We expect to compete against an opponent, Milan, who is a candidate to be at the top at the end of the regular season. We will be facing a great team and we will have to give it our all if we want to defeat them. Milan is basing their game on five or six players and that forces them to play more time, so they probably will not want many possessions. They know how to play, they have experience and they have players that know the league like Pangos, Mirotic, Voigtmann, Melli, Hines... They are an extraordinary team and we will have to handle the tempo of the game and try to conduct it if we want to win."
Ettore Messina, Milan head coach
"We come from a very tough game, in which we spent a lot of energy, so recovering from a physical point of view is the most important thing for us to play a good game in Madrid. Real is a team that is doing very well: they are the reigning champions, and they are playing with the confidence typical of champions. Against a team of this level, it will be essential to move the ball to build high-percentage shots and slow down their offensive transition which can be lethal."
Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Regular Season
Real MadridRMB
8871
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
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Gabriel Deck, Real Madrid player
"Milan will get here eager to play well. All the teams that come to Madrid want to play well and win, but we have to think bout ourselves and do things well to win the game. This is another great EuroLeague game. It is a tough competition and we hope we meet the expectations. Our fans, people support us and give us a boost that we need to turn in our favor. We have started great, but that does not mean anything."