"These are two important games, but they aren’t crucial"

Argentine manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino spoke in Milan about his team's upcoming week, during which it will face the Italian side in the Champions League and Real Madrid in the league. "We'll take a look at ourselves every three or four days, no one match is more important than another," he said.
"More than at our opponents, I look at the risks to my players. I don't have a habit of looking at upcoming opponents. We'll start thinking about Real Madrid on Wednesday."
Regarding squad rotations, Tata Martino said that it is too soon to assess their effectiveness: "We rotate in order to get to the end of the season fully fit. If I hadn't rotated, not every player would be fit for this match. We'll look at the reasons behind the rotations next year, it's still too early."
The former Newell's manager, who advised his players not to play on the counter-attack in order to lessen the danger posed by Milan, confirmed that he had called up 22 players "because it's an important match for qualification and I thought it was important that we all be there. If we get a result, we know that we'll have almost qualified. Regarding Balotelli, it's bad for the fans when the stars don't play, but good for the opposition," he said.
"Messi looks good to me. He recovered quicker than we expected. Once the doctors declare him fit, the risks will be the same as any other player," he said regarding his fellow countryman.