Pioli hopes for a Milan comeback as they enter the Champions League quarterfinals

(ahram) ⸻ Stefano Pioli is hoping that AC Milan have pulled out of their damaging downward spiral as they prepare for their first Champions League knockout tie in nearly a decade. On Friday night, Olivier Giroud headed Milan to a 1-0 win over Torino and Pioli wants that tight victory to be the turning point after two Milan derby defeats and heavy league losses to Lazio and Sassuolo in just over a fortnight. Pioli knows a lot about unexpected renaissances as he went from almost being replaced by Ralf Rangnick to stewarding Milan's rise from the doldrums to the top of the Italian game. Last season's Scudetto, dethroning local rivals Inter Milan on the final day, was the crowning glory of an up-and-down career. Pioli has taken Milan to the Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2014 and will be hoping for a better result than nine years ago, when they were thrashed 5-1 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid. He will be boosted by the return of both Ismael Bennacer and Fikayo Tomori from injury and a public rebuttal of rumours of a dressing room bust-up.