AC MILAN ace Stephan El Shaarawy says Celtic will be blown to bits by the firepower of the Italians. The San Siro kid reckons Neil Lennon’s men have little chance of creating an upset in the opening Champions League group clash a week tonight. The Hoops have been handed a tough assignment in Group H with Barcelona and Ajax making up the section. Starting well in Northern Italy would give them a mammoth boost but El Shaarawy reckons there is no chance of that. The 20-year-old swears Celtic are too weak to cope with the Milan’s attacking power. Having lost bad goals against Shakhter Karagandy away from home in the play-off round, El Shaarawy reckons they are there for the taking. And with attacking talent worth more than £100 million at their disposal he is confident Milan will blow gaping holes in Lennon’s backline. El Shaarawy respects the passion and courage of the Scots but he said: “We will be too strong for them. “There is a lot of talk about their character and team spirit but that is not going to save them from our attacking strength. “We have some of the best attacking players in the world. “With myself, Mario Balotelli, Robinho, Alessandro Matri, Giampaolo Pazzini and now Kaka, we will be too strong. “It is clear this season they have been conceding goals against teams that have nowhere near our attacking talent.” While El Shaarawy has the confidence of youth, elder statesman Franco Baresi takes a more cautious approach. The San Siro legend has been around for long enough to know nothing comes easy in the top flight of European competition. Milan have injury problems in defence. Highly-rated right-back Mattia de Sciglio – who at 20 has won eight Italian caps – needs a knee operation that will sideline him for up to two months. And fellow stopper Ignazio Abate is a major doubt after picking up an abductor problem on duty with Italy. It means Massimiliano Allegri’s side have Cristian Zaccardo as their only fit senior full-back. Baresi has this and the heroics of Celtic in last season’s group stages on his mind as he assesses the prospects for his former team ahead of the opener. The World Cup-winning defender said: “This is a difficult group for Milan because Celtic are an excellent team in the Champions League. “The win against Barcelona was something everyone noticed – they deserved it. “It’s going to be tough. Celtic have been a great Champions League team down the years, especially in Scotland. They don’t lose there very often. Everyone in Europe sees this. “The crowd carries them so much and they seem to be a proud team, proud to play for the club.” Baresi is also worried his old team do not have the nous of previous AC sides. Allegri’s young guns have ability but do not have a huge amount of Champions League experience. Baresi said: “Milan are not so experienced as before when Celtic played them. There is no Rino Gattuso, for example. “It takes a while for a team to grow but they are improving.” Meanwhile, Kaka will be eased back into action after returning on a free from Real Madrid. The 31-year-old played in the 4-0 weekend friendly win over Chiasso but admitted he lacks match fitness. Assistant coach Mauro Tassotti said: “One half against a second division Swiss team is simply not enough.”
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:01:39 +0000