Maignan reacts after decisive save to deny Italy top spot: “We wanted revenge”

Mike Maignan remained humble after he had a big hand in helping France secure top spot in their UEFA Nations League group stage game.

Italy just needed to avoid losing to France by two goals in order to seal top spot in the group given that they had the edge in head-to-head after a 3-1 victory in the reverse game, but they were unable to limit the damage.

Adrien Rabiot scored inside two minutes then an own-goal from Guglielmo Vicario doubled the advantage. Andrea Cambiaso halved the deficit and had the Azzurri back on course, until Rabiot’s 65th-minute goal ended up being the decisive one.

Speaking of being decisive, Maignan made a brilliant stop right at the death to deny Moise Kean and maintain the two-goal advantage, earning him praise from the media. He spoke to TF1 after the match, with MilanPress relaying his comments.

“I don’t know if I saved the team with that save, the game was over, but it was a great feeling. I like to make saves when they are decisive, when it is important for the team,” he said.

“There was nothing better than winning, we wanted revenge. It was a game that was very much about pride before first place. We lost in September at home and we wanted to finish well.

“In games like this we know what we have to do when we play together. It is very important for us, for our confidence.

“When you play as a team like this, when you work hard for each other, you can achieve great results. After that, these are performances that must be repeated, they are worthy of the French national team.”

After the game, Maignan was photographed with Theo Hernandez (who didn’t play due to a knee issue) plus Sandro Tonali and Daniel Maldini, formerly of Milan of course.