The Serie A side came from a goal behind to beat Kjetil Knutsen’s men 3-2 at San Siro thanks to Lorenzo Colombo and Calhanoglu’s brace.
Speaking to the media after the game, Pioli admitted he expected such performance from Calhanoglu, a player he labeled as exceptional.
“A lot of the credit goes to him, he’s a generous player with high quality, he works for the team,” the s Italian coach told DAZN
“It’s difficult to always expect two goals but I expect this type of performance. He’s an exceptional guy, he has the qualities to become the protagonist
Colombo was given a starting berth when news broke out that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had tested positive for Coronavirus.
The 18-year-old made an impact as he scored the Rossoneri’s second, becoming the youngest player to score for the Milanese club since M’baye Niang scored against Reggina in the Coppa Italia in 2012. Pioli was quick to highlight the youngster’s ‘attitude’ in his first year in the senior team.
He said: “He was certainly very excited, and it showed,” Pioli said. “That’s a good thing, he’s an 18 year old boy who is called into action right before kick-off.
“He had responsibilities. He’s a great guy with his head on his shoulders, the will to work hard. It’s not obvious to find young people with this attitude, he knows he must work hard to improve.
“I’m very happy that he was ready and scored, like he did in the pre-season matches.”
AC Milan will now face Portuguese side Rio Ave, who beat Besiktas to qualify.
He added: “It’s an evidence that all matches are difficult. We knew it was going to be challenging today, we had seven important players missing.
“Now, we focus on the match on Sunday and then on the play-off. It’s another target.”
