Maldini ‘satisfied’ with Milan’s UCL group

Paolo Maldini

says that

are "satisfied" with their Champions League group and are looking forward to playing

. "What matters to us is to keep raising the bar and competing for something bigger."

Because they won Serie A, the Rossoneri were the only Italian team to be the top seed in the draw. They were paired with Chelsea, one of the best teams in the Premier League, RB Salzburg from Austria, and Dinamo Zagreb from

Croatia

. Maldini told Milan TV, "This group sees us as the top seeds, so on paper, it might look easier than last season."

"There will always be problems.

is a strong team with a not-so-great history, but they are still hard to beat. We played Dinamo Zagreb in a preliminary round a few years ago. Milan and Chelsea are the favorites. A strong team in the same group can make qualifying a little easier. We're happy with the group on paper."

Last season, the Diavolo had bad luck and ended up at the bottom of their group. They were knocked out of Europe by Christmas, but that let a small team focus on Serie A.

"The goal is to get better and come in first or second place. That's easy to say but harder to do. We'll find out if we deserve it on the field. As a club, a team, and fans, what matters to us is to keep raising the bar and competing for bigger things. The more we do that, the more people will know about the brand, the more money we'll get from sponsors, and the better players we'll get."

The Champions League draw was held in Istanbul because this year's Final will be held. The original location was changed in May because of security concerns.

This is a special place for Rossoneri fans, but it brings back bad memories. They were up 3-0 on Liverpool at halftime but lost on penalties. Maldini was asked if the fact that the Final would be in Istanbul would make Milan want to get back at Real Madrid.

"Dreams help you set goals and try your hardest to do things that might seem impossible. We're not ready to dream that big yet, but whoever stands in our way won't be happy about it.

"This club has a long history, a ready team working together for a while, and a great stadium. We are in the middle of something, but that doesn't mean we can't dream."

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