AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has been praised for speaking fluent Italian in a brilliant post-match interview, 15 months after joining the Serie A giants from European champions Chelsea.
The 24-year-old centre-back, who has made two appearances for England, has been in fine form for Stefano Pioli's side this season after completing a £24 million move following a successful season-long loan spell at the San Siro.
In fact, Milan have only conceded eight Serie A goals in 2022, and his performances have been a key reason behind their title charge as they sit top of the league, two points ahead of title rivals Inter Milan.
Tomori has made a total of 38 appearances for club and country this season and on Sunday night, he notched another clean sheet as Milan beat Fiorentina 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Rafael Leao.
It was a crucial three points in the Serie A race.
🏴 Fikayo Tomori against Fiorentina:
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) May 1, 2022
🔘 64 Touches
🔘 46 Passes
🔘 84% Pass Accuracy
🔘 3/4 Long Balls
🔘 1/1 Ground Duels
🔘 1/2 Aerial Duels
🔘 2 Interceptions
🔘 2 Blocked Shots
🔘 1 Clearance
🔘 1 Tackle
💪. #SempreMilan #MilanFiorentina pic.twitter.com/Tj2bNcT0hM
After the final whistle, a cool, calm and collected Tomori conducted an interview with DAZN in fluent Italian as Milan maintained a two point advantage in the title race.
“We are happy and I am happy," he said. "I’m tired (laughs) but we are happy and we have to continue. There are three games to go and we have to win."
It was a post-match interview that was praised by many. Former England international Shaun Wright-Phillips took to social media to applaud Tomori's actions.
"Big respect @fikayotomori," he tweeted. "Not only have you been outstanding on the pitch this season in a new country, but you’ve taken time out to learn the language and respected culture."
Big respect @fikayotomori_. Not only have you been outstanding on the pitch this season in a new country, but you’ve taken time out to learn the language and respected culture 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/alpbxwmIq2
— Shaun Wright-Phillips (@swp29) May 2, 2022
Plenty of fans reacted to the Tomori interview on Sunday night.
One said: "Bravo on learning the language so well in such a short space of time and having the bottle to do interviews in Italian. I think that’s quite rare for English players abroad. Also bravo on smashing it in Serie A."
Another wrote: "Really impressive how fast he's learnt the language. Good player who doesn't get the recognition he deserves."
A third commented: "I really love Fikayo Tomori. The personality it takes to come forward and speak Italian every week after a match says so much about him. Easy to feel vulnerable, overly exposed, in a situation like this. He’s brilliant."
Thank you🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Fikayo Tomori (@fikayotomori_) May 2, 2022
Tomori praised the atmosphere inside the San Siro during his interview. "When the stadium is full there is more emotion, they push us," he said. "We can play with more energy because the fans charge us so much.
“We defend with the whole team, it is a pride not to concede so many goals: it helps us to win and we can continue like this.
"We hope to continue like this (laughs). But the only important thing is the three points."
Thoughts on the Tomori post-match interview? Does he deserve more chances in the England set-up?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: @swp29/Twitter
Topics: AC Milan, Fiorentina, Chelsea, Serie A
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