Vincenzo Montella revealed Federico Chiesa and Nikola Milenkovic will play against Benfica because Fiorentina are “contractually obligated.”
The Viola were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the International Champions Cup and will face Benfica in New York’s Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night.
“We are tired, both physically and mentally, as I saw the players were really exhausted in training today. At least there were no injuries, that’s the positive thing,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Chiesa’s future remains up in the air and he did not feature against Arsenal, having arrived late to pre-season training due to the European Under-21 Championship.
“I discovered that Chiesa is contractually obligated to play at least 30 minutes and so is Milenkovic, so they’re going to have to play against Benfica.
“Chiesa didn’t seem particularly irritated or sad to me. The lads are working well, they are at our disposal and some are playing out of position during an emergency situation.
“The responses I’ve had have been better than expected, but we need to evaluate over time and figure out the most functional players available to us on the transfer market.
“What I do want to make clear is that we’re working not on particular tactical systems, but on principles of football. I am not bound to one shape. I believe the club wants to put me in the best possible condition to play my kind of football.”
