Monza, Paolo Bianco between satisfaction and awareness

Thanks to Samuele Birindelli’s goal at 27′ of the first half, Monza beat Modena in one of Friday’s two early Serie B matches (in the other, Avellino defeated Bari 2-0) and thus re-engaged, at least for one night, Venice at the top of the standings, on 75 points. In the press room at U-Power Stadium, Paolo Bianco said he was very happy with the result, although he was aware that he could not take anything for granted until the final whistle blew.

“At this time of the season, games against those who have the least to lose become even more difficult. It’s normal to have to suffer to bring home the result,” said the red and white coach. “We have to be ready to grit our teeth until the last minute. I am ready to do that, we all have to be. The goal is to get to 81 points-we are six points away from celebrating. The rest is not up to us.”

“We cannot control the results of the others, but we can control what we do. And we can still win two games,” Bianco further explained. “It’s a crazy league, but living it from the inside is beautiful. I am enjoying every moment of this journey. The final cherry is missing and we have to conquer it, but in the meantime I’m enjoying the journey.”

The calendar still offers two matches at the regular season level for Monza: on May 1, the Brianzoli will be on stage at the “Danilo Martelli” in Mantua against the host Virgilians, while seven days later they will play the last round at the U-Power Stadium against Empoli, currently embroiled in the fight not to relegate.

The goal of Bianco and his players is to finish among the top two to return to Serie A, after only one year of purgatory, without going through the serpentine playoff round, which instead involves the teams ranked third and fourth (admitted directly to the semifinals) and those between fifth and eighth (who instead will have to play a preliminary round).