#INSERT type:image caption:Diego Lopez said he was 'relaxed' and would be supporting his young teammate. END#
AC Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez said he accepted coach Sinisa Mihajlovic's decision to drop him and give 16-year-old Antonio Donnarumma a debut in Sunday's win over Sassuolo.
Lopez, 33, had played all eight of Milan's league matches this season, but Donnarumma, who played in a friendly against Inter Milan in midweek, was selected instead on Sunday.
The decision made him the second-youngest debutant for the Serie A club, behind Giuseppe Rossi, a few months younger when he made his first appearance back in 1941.
Speaking after the game, Lopez told reporters at the San Siro: "I'm not the main protagonist. I'm relaxed and serene.
"I've got faith in my work. I've been here for a year-and-a-half and played almost 40 games for Milan, and my record is good. I've always tried to be good enough for this club.
"I think there's been too much said about me this week. I always take my responsibility, and we all have to. Milan's season does not only depend on the goalkeeper. At the moment I want to help, whether I'm on the field or on the bench.
"I totally respect the coach's decision, I respect this great club, and I support my teammate. I'll do my talking back on the field, you can count on that."
Mihajlovic refused to say who would play in goal in the midweek game against Chievo, with La Stampa reporting him as saying the decision to drop Lopez had been "a technical choice."
"I rate Diego Lopez very highly, but in recent weeks Donnarumma has looked in better shape to me," he said.
"I don't look at a player's age -- I just see whether somebody's good or not. He's training well, and he gives me more faith right now.
"Let's see what happens next. He's got everything it takes to be a great goalkeeper. People complain when you don't field young players, and then when they do play you get criticised anyway. We'll see what happens. We've got two great goalkeepers."
Milan general manager Adriano Galliani said: "We've got total faith in Diego Lopez. We can understand if he's disappointed, but he's got to respect the coach's decision."